Last season, the defense forced just eight takeaways. This season, it’s at nine and counting after just week three.
One of the biggest critiques of the 2024 Jaguars’ defense was its lack of a pass-rush, despite having one of the league’s best tandems in Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. The unit finished 30th in pressure rate and were dead last in blitz percentage.
Other than Arik Armstead’s return to his natural position at defensive tackle, not much has changed along the defensive front. Hines-Allen and Walker are very much still doing their thing as well. Walker’s taken yet another step forward it seems.
Among edge duos, Hines-Allen and Walker rank second (Tied w/ Houston) with 31 pressures as a couple. They are the only pair to account for over 50% of their team’s pressures. At defensive tackle, not much has changed in terms of production. The Jaguars are tied for 29th in pressures (12) from their defensive interior.
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What has changed is the mentality and philosophy of the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator. Last season, Ryan Nielsen ran a very man-heavy defense that featured a very low blitz rate. In some ways, it made it easy for opposing offenses to know what to expect.
That certainly has not been the case for this year’s defense, led by Anthony Campanile. Campanile has been creative and diverse, sending unique blitz packages at opposing quarterbacks to decipher and deal with.
According to FTN Fantasy, the Jaguars are seventh in heavy-blitz (6+) rate and ninth in stunt rate. It’s working too. The Jaguars rank second with 18 pressures from non-DL players. He’s being further creative with his blitz packages by dropping his DL into coverage more than any
other team, instead opting to send LBs and DBs in their place to confuse opposing QBs.
Hines-Allen, Walker, and Armstead are still no doubt getting their looks, but Campanile is keeping opponents guessing as to who is coming, how many, and where from. The Jags have had a lot of success on stunts. Walker’s sack against the Texans was a mini stunt, running around teammate Devin Lloyd.
Added pressure, unique blitz packages, and heavy use of dime packages are all part of Campanile’s M.O. and what’s led to the immediate success of this defense. Last season, the defense forced just eight takeaways. This season, it’s at nine and counting after just week three. Creativity has met talent.
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Category: Football
