Jacksonville Jaguars: Why Cornerback For Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey played free safety at Florida State. But the Jacksonville Jaguars see him being a better fit for them at corner.

Many talent evaluators around the NFL felt that Florida State free safety Jalen Ramsey was the best player in the entire 2016 draft. Ramsey’s athleticism and ball skills are considered elite and he was a play maker on one of the best defenses in the country at Florida State.

Ramsey played mostly free safety at Florida State. He made plenty of plays over the top defending the pass but he left a lot to be desired in run support. Ramsey hesitated to fill the alley consistently against the run and was an average tackler. Despite making several big plays last season, Ramsey finished with zero interceptions. That’s part of the reason why Ramsey made the decision to work out at corner prior to the draft.

The decision to move to corner was a wise decision for Ramsey because his length and his ball skills are more suited to the position. That’s why Jacksonville drafted him. Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley like big corners who can press at the line of scrimmage and re-direct receivers. Jacksonville plays the same 4-3, Cover 2 defense that the Seattle Seahawks plays.

The defense requires six defensive lineman who can start and rotate in. Athletic linebackers and long corner who can press and re-route receivers. The Jaguars have many of those pieces in place but Bradley needed to find his Richard Sherman. He did in Ramsey.

Here are three reasons why Ramsey could be a good fit in Bradley’s scheme.

1. Size: At 6’1″ and 209 pounds, Ramsey has the height and the size to play in a squat Cover 2 coverage based defense. Ramsey is physical at the line. He gets his hands on receivers quickly and re-routes them. He has the athleticism to flip his hips and transition with receivers down the field. His frame is thick enough that can hold up in run support if he has flat area responsibility. The question with Ramsey is, does he want to support the run?

2. Ball Skills: Ramsey has natural ball skills. His hands are good enough that he could be a starting wide receiver in the NFL if he wanted to. Ramsey does a good job of establishing hip position in man coverage and he doesn’t get stacked by receivers. He plays with good anticipation and he can go up and make a play on the ball when it is thrown in his direction. Ramsey has a ball hawk mentally and treats every ball thrown in his direction as his ball.

3. Scheme Fit: Ramsey fits the mold of today’s long corner. He has the length and the athleticism coaches look for at the position. Bradley is a Pete Carroll disciple so just like Carroll, he wants big, rangy corners who are physical at the line of scrimmage and can play off man to man coverage. Ramsey is that type of player. He can fill the so called “shutdown” corner role for the Jags.

More nfl spin zone: Countdown to Kickoff: No. 98 Damon Harrison

Jaguars general manager David Caldwell has assembled a lot of young talent on defense. The time is now in Jacksonville. If the Jags are going to become contenders, their young talent needs to continue to develop on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. Ramsey is one of those young players that needs to develop quickly and become a difference maker.

Home/Jacksonville Jaguars