Rising Jaguars Defender Prepares For Monumental Opportunity vs. Browns

Former Jacksonville Jaguars seventh-round pick Montaric Brown has a chance to make a big impact in Week 2 vs. the Cleveland Browns.

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown (30) reacts to pressuring a pass that fell incomplete against Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman (7), not shown, during the third quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-7. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost their star cornerback Tyson Campbell for at least the next month on Thursday, but there has been no panic settling in at the Miller Electric Center.

The reason for calmness? Third-year cornerback Montaric Brown, who appears to be the favorite to replace Campbell in the lineup after Campbell was placed on injured reserve on Thursday with a hamstring injury.

Brown started six games for the Jaguars last year with Campbell going through injury issues, including a road game against the Cleveland Browns. Now, his next chance will come against Cleveland once again.

"I can go back and watch them and see what they did, but it is just crazy. I started last year vs. them and I get another opportunity this week," Brown said in the locker room this week.

"It means a lot, you know, just preparing for them. It starts in practice. So just make sure I work hard in practice and do what I got to do."

Brown, a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has made the roster three years running and has proven to be a key depth piece year in and year out.

Now he will once again get a chance to make his argument as one of the Jaguars' top developmental stories of the Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke era.

"The whole last year, it gave me a lot of confidence and experience. It definitely helped, and I'm leaning onto it this year," Brown said.

"I'm just more knowledgeable of the game technique-wise and knowing the game."

Brown stepping in for Campbell in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins is an example of the Jaguars' mindset across the defense. Now, he has another chance to shine on a big stage.

“It's one of the things that, at all positions, is having the rotation. Like we saw with the linebackers, the D-line, in the secondary, is continue—because it's such a long, I mean, look what happened to Tyson," Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen said this week.

"Tyson goes down Week 1 and so, next guy up. If Buster [CB Montaric Brown] didn't play in the preseason and things like that, then we wouldn't know, because he was playing against really good—so we knew, hey, we were confident. Something happened, he's next guy in, he goes out there and does his job."

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