The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2025 Free Agency with the need for a starting outside cornerback opposite Tyson Campbell as Ronald Darby had just been released after a disappointing season.
Jaguars fans felt good going into the 2025 offseason with Tyson Campbell outside and Jarrian Jones as the starting nickel.
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General manager James Gladstone shocked everyone when the Jaguars signed Jourdan Lewis to a three-year, $30 million contract.
Lewis historically had played nickel cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, and his contract makes him the highest-paid slot corner in the league. That begged the question: what about Jarrian Jones?
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Jones had a stellar rookie season and it seems the Jaguars' front office has full confidence in his ability to play both inside and outside. He did very well doing so in college at Florida State during his 2022 campaign so there’s reason to believe he could in the NFL as well.
With the addition of Lewis, the Jaguars have two of the best nickelbacks in the entire NFL.
I wanted to see just how good Lewis really was. Thus, he was stacked up against 29 other starting NFL nickelbacks for comparison.
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Lewis was arguably the best of them all. Of the 30 players with the most snaps in the slot, Jourdan Lewis was targeted the least of all at just 12.5%. He simply blanketed receivers and quarterbacks thought better than to even try targeting Lewis.
When he was targeted, business was handled. Lewis allowed a completion rate of just 62.5%, fourth best among the 30 nickelbacks. His NFL Rating allowed of just 75.0 was just as good, also ranking fourth best.
When diving deeper, his numbers only got better. NFL NextGenStats has two statistics dubbed “Ball Hawk %” and “Tight Window %” that identify the players who disrupt the most passes when targeted and the players who force the most tight window throws, respectively.
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Lewis’ 17.5% ball hawk rate was the best of all 30 qualifying players and his 25.0% tight windows forced placed him third. Lewis’s ability to prevent separation allowed him to get hands on the ball and forced quarterbacks to make difficult, tight-window throws repeatedly.
In short, the Jaguars just got themselves a premier starting nickel cornerback who was rarely targeted and when he is, he is among the best performing defensive backs in the league. He’s the most proven free agent signing of the offseason for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars may very well attack the cornerback position in the NFL Draft to add competition at outside corner, however, they should feel pretty confident at nickelback this coming season. Lewis is a ball player.
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