The Jacksonville Jaguars have invested a lot into their secondary these past few seasons, including signing and drafting a few notables at the cornerback position. Their biggest investment to the secondary was the addition of Darius Williams, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the team to return to his hometown.
Most local reporters feel like Williams could end up being the Jags’ starting nickel (at least for 2022), due to Tyson Campbell and Shaquill Griffin not having extensive or notable experience there. However, Williams also doesn’t have a ton of experience there either, taking 113 snaps in the slot compared to 1,714 wide, according to Pro Football Focus.
This has caused some to feel like the nickel corner position isn’t where Williams will start, though Campbell and Griffin feel less likely to play there, too. PFF’s Doug Kyed feels this is the reason the Jags could afford to sign veteran free-agent cornerback Chris Harris Jr. and deemed it as the move the Jags should make before camp.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Sign Chris Harris
The Jaguars have a solid top three at cornerback with Shaquill Griffin, Darious Williams and Tyson Campbell, and one of those players will likely be manning the slot. But none of them are obvious fits for the position — Williams played heavily outside with the Los Angeles Rams despite his smaller stature — and in an era when teams go four wide, it would be nice to have another option and more certainty with a player like Harris.
Harris turned 33 this offseason, and if the Jags signed him, it’s worth noting that he’d be the oldest player on the team. However, as a former All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler, he has more experience than any nickel candidate on the Jags’ roster, especially those we haven’t named yet.
Harris last played for the Los Angeles Chargers last season and took 747 snaps for them. He ended up registering an overall grade of 62.4 in the process, and it may be worth noting that it was the second-lowest grade of his career.
When it comes to the debate of whether the Jags should sign him, it seems possible that they are comfortable with what they have at the moment. After all, maybe there was a reason they drafted two cornerbacks this April in the sixth and seventh rounds after selecting Gregory Junior and Montaric Brown.
Then there is veteran Tre Herndon, who general manager Trent Baalke felt good enough to re-sign this offseason. Another veteran to watch is Xavier Crawford, who joined the Jags this offseason alongside his former position coach from Chicago, Deshea Townsend.
Training camp will give the Jags a little time to sort out the nickel position. But if they aren’t comfortable with what they are seeing in the early stages of it, they may need to look into the idea of bringing in Harris or another veteran.
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