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The Jacksonville Jaguars secondary could boast four brand new starters on opening day in 2013, that is if veteran Dwight Lowery can't hold off sixth-round pick Josh Evans from taking his starting position. Lowery has been a playmaker for the Jaguars when he's healthy, but he's also had some lapses in coverage and struggled with staying healthy and consistent.
Lowery is going to be asked to be a leader in the back four for the Jaguars, which will be something new for him.
"He hasn't been forced to be a leader of a group before," Jaguars defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker told The Florida Times-Union. "But with him, too, there is still a process we have to go through as we prepare for the regular season."
Lowery will have to correct his tendency to show up hot and cold, or he could find himself losing his starting position to rookie Josh Evans, who the coaching staff is seemingly very high on. There had been multiple reports that the Jaguars had a third-round grade on Evans, even debating drafting him instead of Dwayne Gratz back in April, but snapped him up when he was still there in the sixth-round.
As mentioned, Lowery has been a playmaker when he's been healthy, but that's always been a problem for him. He missed the final seven games of the 2012 season with an ankle injury but survived the team's dumping of veterans in the secondary. That doesn't mean his starting role is locked in however, especially if Evans shows he has a grasp of playing the team's defense and some level of consistency he should see a bit of playing time early on.
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