clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Jaguars 2016 training camp: Jalen Ramsey plays inside and outside cornerback

Jalen Ramsey's grasp of the defense and athleticism highlighted the first day of training camp for the Jaguars.

By Ryan Day

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a plan with Jalen Ramsey. They wanted to play him inside, specifically at the nickel cornerback position. It's a position where he could rely on his speed and strength and learn the NFL game at a pace that might be a bit smoother than being thrown into the game covering a team's star receiver as an outside corner opposite Davon House.

The plan sounded good in theory... until Ramsey took the practice field and showed coaches he had the physical abilities as well as enough of a grasp of the defense to play both inside and outside. And it didn't take long for the coaches to put him all over the field.

"I was really impressed with [Ramsey] at nickel," Bradley said after Day 1 of training camp. "He really jumped in there and boy it seemed like a lot of the techniques came natural to him. I kept a close eye on him and that was impressive. You know for him he has had even less practices. The very good thing about our offense is they throw a lot at the defense early and so it’s really straining. It was long last night and intense because of all of the different looks and we threw a lot on him, but he seemed to pick it up really good."

Here he is playing outside on second-year receiver Rasheed Bailey. Look at how physical he can be and how quickly he turns his head around when Bailey's starts looking for the ball.

Ramsey's speed is also something else. Here he is on the opposite side of the field from where the play is going. Julius Thomas runs a shallow route over the middle and Ramsey uses his speed to get to Thomas after he'd gained just five or six yards.

Aaron Colvin, the team's nickel cornerback before the 2016 NFL Draft, is suspended for the first four games of the season. It's the perfect opportunity for Ramsey to seize a key role in this Jaguars defense as a player going back and forth between outside and nickel cornerback depending on the situation.

Let's see what Ramsey can do at Day 2 of practice.

More From Big Cat Country