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Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown comes through again when called off the bench
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- Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown comes through again when called off the bench
Montaric "Buster" Brown wasted no time in making an impact as the starting cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars last week against the Cleveland Browns .
On the Browns' sixth offensive play, wide receiver Elijah Moore tried to take Brown deep on a sideline route. But Brown spotted what was going on in the backfield: wide receiver Jerry Jeudy had taken a pitch from running back Jerome Ford and was running free and about to turn the corner.
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Brown came up, waited patiently, shrugged off an attempt by Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson to block him, and tripped Jeudy up for no gain.
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown (30) tackles Cleveland Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Browns defeated the Jaguars 18-13. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
As it turned out, the play was nullified because of a holding penalty on the Browns. But it set the tone for Brown's day. He went on to make 11 solo tackles, two for lost yardage, in the Jaguars' 18-13 loss.
"Preparation is the key," said Brown, who started six games last year when Campbell was hurt and has eight starts overall. "Preparing week-in and week-out, scouting your opponent, knowing what he's going to do. I feel I've gotten better at that over the years, stepping up when my name's called and capatilizing on my opportunity."
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Montaric Brown part of a talented young group
Young players such as Brown, a third-year seventh-round draft pick from Arkansas and rookies corners Jarrian Jones and De'Antre Prince have made early contributions to show the secondary depth is enough to weather the loss of Tyson Campbell and Darnell Savage in the first two games.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson went so far as to label the secondary "a bright spot" in the season so far.
"I know we had some mishaps Week 1 in Miami , and things of that nature," Pederson said of a handful of big plays in the passing game for the Dolphins. "But I thought Buster played an excellent football game. You saw De'Antre Prince come in and make a play on [Browns wide receiver] Amari Cooper ... their best receiver."
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Pederson thinks it will only get better, starting with the Monday Night game at Buffalo (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
"They continue to gain confidence the more they're out there," he said of the secondary. "We still have some communication things we've got to clean up, and some leverage things. But that's been a bright spot for us."
Montaric Brown is a solid open-field tackler
Brown's strength has always been in run support. He leads the team in solo tackles in the first two games with 13 and over the past two seasons, despite being inactive in five games and starting only seven, is 12th on the team with 22 solo stops.
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According to the NFL's Next Gen stats, Brown allowed only 46 yards last week on 12 passes where he was targeted by the Browns, an average of 3.8 yards per reception. That was the best among Jags secondary players.
Brown also is a good tackler and takes down bigger wide receivers and running backs despite being only 6 feet and 190 pounds.
Ryan Nielsen praises Montaric Brown's work ethic
Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who has emphasized a faster-paced defense with more man coverage, inherited Brown, who had a rep out of college that he might not be able to keep up with the NFL's speedier wide receivers.
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But the Jaguars kept Brown, cutting veteran corners Gregory Junior , Christian Braswell and Erick Hallett II (Braswell was brought back to the practice squad) and Nielsen couldn't seem to be happier.
"What a game ... he was all over the place," Nielsen said of Brown's performance against Cleveland. "Making tackles, tight coverage ... he was everywhere. Really good game."
Nielsen said Brown has worked as hard as anyone since OTAs and it's that diligence that has given him more confidence.
"You could see his confidence grow throughout the game," Nielsen said. "And he came in the building that last couple of days, just the look on his face was really good. There wasn't a surprise that he played like that because that's what we saw him do in camp and practice. We continue to see him get better."
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And with experience and preparation comes patience. Brown said the play on the reverse to Jeudy was an example of not biting on the route, then making sure Jeudy wasn't going to pull up and throw off the reverse.
"Just making the plays come to me," Brown said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown again proves his value off the bench
