3 Jacksonville Jaguars players who must elevate in new systems

This was an offseason full of change for the Jacksonville Jaguars, from the front office to the coaching staff and to the roster, where there are 46 new players on this year’s team.

Of course, those changes from top to bottom will play an important role in the Jaguars‘ bouncing back in 2025. But also a key part of that equation is that a number of the returning players elevate their games under the new offensive and defensive schemes.

Here are three Jaguars players in particular who can have a big impact on this season’s outcome with improved play.

Jaguars’ offensive line unit

I guess right off the bat here, I’ll cheat, and instead of picking one player, I’m picking a whole position group. I could choose Walker Little, for example, but when it comes to offensive line play, the sum of the parts is greater than any one individual player.

Collectively, the Jaguars’ play up front has to improve this season. This is something that Liam Coen has discussed since arriving in Jacksonville.

When the offensive line provides a strong run game to lean on, it keeps the offense ahead of the sticks, out of predictable passing situations, and opens up opportunities in the passing game. We also all know how important it is that the quarterback has time in the pocket to go through his reads.

To help foster this improved play, the Jaguars are leaning heavily into competition this offseason, with six new additions made and a lot of mixing and matching taking place in practices.

CB Tyson Campbell

Over the last two seasons, Campbell has allowed a completion rate of nearly 69% during that span, and in 2024, he allowed nearly 14 yards per reception. He’s also had just one interception.

Getting improved play from the secondary unit as a whole will be a group effort, but Campbell playing closer to his 2022 form will be a big part of that equation.

Helping Campbell will be Anthony Campanile’s new defensive scheme, which he seems to be acclimating to very well as he put together a strong offseason showing. In this new-look defense, the secondary will have a vision-based approach, which means keeping all eyes on the quarterback and more zone coverage.

As Liam Coen has said, he believes that Campbell can “excel” in this defensive system.

“I really am really, really fired up about everything he’s done this offseason because he’s competed so hard in the practices,” Campanile said during minicamp. “He’s fighting for every rep, whether it’s at the top of the route, on the line of scrimmage, in the break area.

“He’s just really trying to play with a lot of detail, and I think a lot of that shows up if you were to sit and watch his individual. He’s competing his tail off in individual.”

IDL Maason Smith

After not making any additions at defensive tackle in free agency or the NFL draft, it’s clear that the Jaguars are banking heavily on Maason Smith taking a Year 2 leap to help provide that unit with a boost.

Smith would appear in 11 games as a rookie, totaling 14 pressures and three sacks. By PFF’s pass rush win rate metric, Smith ranked 99th among defensive tackles, and in run-stop rate, he ranked 124th.

Under Campanile, as Smith described, we will see a more attacking play style up front, which hopefully results in more disruption. The best way to wreck any offensive play is with a quick push up the middle and when that is happening, every other defender on the field will benefit.

“He’s a big one for us,” said Coen of Smith. “We need him to take a huge step this year. I think he’s done a great job when you talk about the offseason program, in the weight room, the conditioning, his mentality with the work ethic, and then coming out here and making it hard.”

This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Tyson Campbell, Maason Smith among Jaguars who must elevate play

3 Jacksonville Jaguars players who must elevate in new systems

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