The Jacksonville Jaguars will take the field Thursday night looking to get their first victory of the preseason as they will be taking on one of their in-state rivals: the Miami Dolphins. On Wednesday night, we previewed some players on offense to watch as the starters will play a bit Thursday night and now it’s time to look at the defensive side.
Here are some players we’ll be watching in Week 3’s game against the Dolphins:
DE Datone Jones
If the season were to start today, he’d unquestionably make the team after Week 2’s strong showing. However, even before that, he was disruptive in training camp.
Jones understands his chances to make the Jags roster better than anyone, and will look to follow up his strong showing against the Eagles with another solid performance. If he does that, he’s a lock for a spot and probably should leap frog Taven Bryan on the depth chart, which brings us to player No. 2 on our list.
DL Taven Bryan
As we mentioned Wednesday, the Jags’ 2018 draft class is slowly finding its way with Ronnie Harrison starting, Will Richardson pushing to start at right guard and Logan Cooke making strides. Now, they simply need the two top selections from the class to up their game in DJ Chark and Taven Bryan.
Chark has at least shown his abilities in practice, but Bryan is simply not making the strides fans would like to see out of a former first-rounder. Sure, he’s made some plays where he’s held the point of attack, but a player of his magnitude has to start making more impact plays — and by that we mean more pressures, sacks and tackles for loss.
Right now, it’s clear as day that Jones is playing better than him, but Bryan is a player who should be around for the long-term. That said, he needs to get going and soon because people are starting to wonder if the Jags have a bust on their hands.
LB Myles Jack
Myles Jack is now the leader of the pack with Paul Posluszny and Telvin Smith gone and 2019 will be huge for him. And while Week 3’s game is just a dress rehearsal, it will be interesting to see if he’s ready to quarterback the defense and lead the linebackers.
It appears Jack will enter 2019 banking on himself to ball out and could look to cash in next season and earn a new deal like the one Jaylon Smith just earned. Then again, earning a new deal isn’t off the table for this year either, so starting the season off on a strong note will be big for Jack.
CB Breon Borders
When looking at the play of Breon Borders, Picasso Nelson and Tae Hays, the battle for the Jags’ No. 5 cornerback spot has been interesting. However, Borders has one thing in his favor and that is the fact that the Jags are the most familiar with him because he spent time on their practice squad last season. As rookies just entering the league, Hays and Nelson don’t have that luxury.
For those reasons, it appears the battle is Borders’ to lose. He was picked on a bit in Week 1’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, but bounced back last week against the Eagles. He’ll need to continue his progress and finish strong against the Dolphins and Falcons though, as Hays and Nelson both have interceptions on there stat sheets for the preseason.
