Jenkins' Big Stops, Ford's and Cisco's Development, and Wingard's Quarterbacking: Chris Ash Breaks Down the Jaguars' Safeties

The Jaguars won't be moving their safety packages any time soon, in large part because of the ascension of two starters who have continued to come along since Week 1. But what else has taken place in the safety room during the first six weeks of the season? Safeties coach Chris Ash helps break it down heading into the bye week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are entering the bye week with exactly what the franchise needed: a win. The Jaguars snapped a 20-game losing streak on Sunday in a 23-20 win over the Miami Dolphins, a game that took clutch plays from the offense, defense, and special teams.

All in all, though, perhaps no individual unit played a bigger role in the Jaguars' clutch plays than the safety room. The Jaguars saw Rayshawn Jenkins, Andrew Wingard, and Rudy Ford all make pivotal stops, while rookie safety Andre Cisco had a specific package drawn up for the contest.

Moving into the bye week, the safety room is arguably on it's highest note of the season. The team's core four players at the position are coming off big weeks, while the Jaguars have seen genuine development from the group compared to Week 1. 

To give a better idea of just where things stand at safety for the Jaguars following their big performance in London, Jaguar Report caught up with Jaguars safeties coach Chris Ash to run through the depth chart, where things stand today, and where things could potentially adjust moving forward.                                 

Rayshawn Jenkins

When the Jaguars signed Rayshawn Jenkins in free agency, it became clear how important the veteran safety would become to their defensive approach. The Jaguars envisioned Jenkins to not only be a leader for a retooled secondary but also as a movable chess piece who could wear multiple hats in the back end of the defense. 

Jenkins so far has played all but one snap for the Jaguars this season and is currently third in tackles (37, one for loss) while also recording a quarterback hit, three pass deflections, and the only forced fumble the Jaguars have recorded this year. And to Ash, Jenkins is a player who is trending upward as the Jaguars' defense settles into what it is truly going to become.

"He's really playing at a high level right now. Each week, he's gotten a little bit better," Ash said. "As you mentioned, this is a new defense, new system, some carryover from what he's done his past, but a lot of it's different. And once we got settled in, and we were pretty consistent with what we're doing, he's really started to take off."

Jenkins is still looking for his breakout moment with the Jaguars, though he has come close a few times. In Week 1, he nearly intercepted Tyrod Taylor but just barely lost a battle of inches to Brandin Cooks, allowing a 50-yard gain. But as Jenkins has gotten more time in Joe Cullen's scheme, the former Chargers safety has grown into his role.

This increased comfort led to a game against the Dolphins where Jenkins recorded a season-high 10 tackles, a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and several big third-down stops -- a game Ash says is the best he has seen Jenkins play in 2021. 

"I thought this last Sunday against Miami was the best game he's played so far this year. He has been really active, having a lot of production and [we're] pleased with the direction he is going," Ash said. 

Jenkins' performance against the Dolphins was highlighted by his final tackle. With 1:55 left in the game and the Dolphins' offense facing 3rd-and-6, the Dolphins went to their best weapon in tight end Mike Gesicki, who caught eight passes for 115 yards on Sunday. 

Typically, Gesicki was dominant against the Jaguars on third-down, but not this time -- not on the biggest third-down of the game. Tua Tagovailoa quickly threw it to Gesicki, who was matched up with Rayshawn Jenkins in man coverage. Jenkins stayed with the tight end in coverage and immediately closed on him near the sideline as he caught the ball, keeping him from extending for the one final yard he needed to give the Dolphins a key first down. 

This, of course, led to the Dolphins going for it on 4th-and-1, the Jaguars stopping them, and then the Jaguars snapping a 20-game losing streak with a 53-yard game-winning field goal. In a game of big plays, Jenkins' third-down tackle was one of the absolute biggest, a fact that wasn't lost on Ash.

"You look at the course of that game, there were a lot of plays that contributed to the victory. That was one of the big ones in the game, in my opinion," Ash said. 

"It gave us a chance to line up and get that fourth down stop that led to eventually, you know, the field goal, but you know, it was a big play, big moment, right there, did a great job in coverage. But the finish to tackle to keep them short was a big play in that game."

Andrew Wingard

One of the most utilized players on the Jaguars' entire defense this year has been third-year safety Andrew Wingard. The former undrafted free agent has gone from special teams standout to starting safety over the last three years, entering the regular season as the Jaguars' starter opposite Rayshawn Jenkins. 

Wingard has consistently drawn praise from the Jaguars' coaching staff for his reliability and knowledge of the scheme, traits that have seen him skyrocket up the depth chart. Wingard won the starting job out of camp and after rotating with rookie safety Andre Cisco in the first two weeks has taken complete control of the role, playing 100% of the snaps in the last four weeks.

"Well, one, he's a competitor. He competes every single day that he's out here. He's really become the quarterback of our defense," Ash said. 

"He knows the defense inside-out, he communicates at a very high level, he helps others get adjusted and lined up. And there's just tremendous value in that. And then when you watch him as a player, he's sneaky good, man. He's all over the field and highly productive." 

Wingard recorded seven tackles and a tackle for loss against the Dolphins, a game that Meyer said he earned co-player of the game honors for. Add in the fact he has one of the team's two turnovers at the bye week mark -- a Week 3 interception of Kyler Murray -- and it doesn't appear that his place in the defense will change, as the Jaguars see value in his talent and his ability to lead the charge in defensive communication. 

Wingard has grown in his three years with the Jaguars, going from undrafted free agent and special teams ace to key cog in Cullen's system and Ash's safety room. And to Ash, that is a climb that has been earned every step of the way.

"One, he's earned that opportunity and two, like I said, he's the quarterback of the defense. And right now, there's just a lot of comfort with what he's doing. He's playing at a high level, and you look at his production this year. He's one of the most productive players we've had."

Rudy Ford

After joining the Jaguars as mostly a special teams player, Rudy Ford has continued to build out a role in the Jaguars' defense. The former special teams ace (who has been called by Urban Meyer the best punt gunner he has ever been around) is still flying downfield on coverage units, but it has been his play in sub-packages on the defensive side of the ball that has stood out to the Jaguars' defensive coaches, specifically Ash and Cullen.

Ford played a season-high 36% of the defensive snaps for the Jaguars against the Dolphins, recording three tackles and allowing just two catches for 10 yards on five targets in coverage, per PFF. It was the culmination in what has been a season-long evolvement of Ford's role, which has steadily increased since he began to make an impression in training camp.

 "Rudy played his best game. Rudy played his best game. He was all over the field special teams wise and I think he played 22 snaps on defense. He was all over the field," Cullen said about Ford on Tuesday. 

"He did a great job. He had three stops, big tackles, that one before the half where we were mugged up, he dropped out. We showed a man look, he [Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa] got rid of the ball quick, and he drove right through the tackler. [He] had some great effort plays, saw a lot of Rudy.”  

For Ash, Ford's play has been impressive throughout the season due to the versatility he provides the defense. Ford lines up in the slot, as an overhang defender, as a linebacker in dime packages, and has the ability to do even more.

It is because of traits like that, Ash said, that Ford has been able to continue to carve a role in the secondary and throughout the Jaguars' nickel and dime packages on defense, giving them a third safety to put on the field with Wingard and Jenkins. And it because of these traits that Ash embraced the chance to coach Ford when the Jaguars signed him and figured out where he would play on defense.

"He's really gotten comfortable and really flourished. His athletic ability has really shined. He's fast, he's physical. He plays the game the way you want it to be played, 100 miles an hour. And he would really put that on display here this last Sunday," Ash told Jaguar Report.

"When you look at his background, he's been a corner. And anytime you can get a guy that's got corner coverage ability, with his size and physicality, it creates a lot of versatility as a player, and we're using him in a lot of different situations. And we'll continue to try to find more ways to use him in the future."

Andre Cisco

One of the biggest names in the Jaguars' base is Andre Cisco. In a year where the Jaguars have been unable to get much from their rookie class outside of Trevor Lawrence due to a mix of injuries and depth chart log jams, Cisco himself has had a minor role on the defense. 

The Jaguars spent the No. 65 overall pick on Cisco, selecting the former Syracuse safety in the third-round and noting he was one of their top-graded safety prospects in the entire class. Cisco went through all of training camp and the preseason healthy following a 2020 ACL injury, but he has either played a rotational role (41 snaps in the first two games) to becoming a special teams fixture over the last month. Cisco saw a specific package against Miami, however, playing two snaps. 

"Well, we had a little package for him the other day and he did well in it. We had a package where he came in, covered the running back who had done a good job, and he did a good job with that. [He has to] just continue to develop," Cullen said on Tuesday. 

It is that development that is so critical for the Jaguars and Ash, though Ash has already seen his rookie safety improve by leaps and bounds since he arrived in Jacksonville. Cisco entered the Jaguars behind a crowded safety room and was earning snaps at the beginning of the season, a sign of his talent before he got his feet wet. 

But for now, Cisco still has to bide his time behind Jenkins and Wingard. As the rookie continues to impress Ash with his development and improvements, there is still a logjam at safety -- at least as long as Wingard and Jenkins are impressing.

"Well, you know, the first thing is, Cisco's, a rookie. He's made tremendous improvements since he's been here. But at the end of the day, Andrew and Rayshawn are playing at a high level," Ash said. "And we'll find opportunities to get Cisco involved. But again, those two guys are playing at a high level. And we're not just going to rotate guys, unless we feel like they give us the best chance to win."

But as Cisco waits for his time and develops, it shouldn't be forgotten that this is just the very start of his Jaguars career. He is six games into his tenure, and the time will come sooner than later for the Jaguars to lean on his play-making ability more and more. It will just take exactly that -- time.

"Cisco is a great young man, has worked his tail off, has really improved. I think he is in a great spot right now. He's really helping us on special teams. He's got a bright future. And you know, he's going to be the future of this defense as we move forward at some point," Ash said.