3 Reasons to Be Excited about The Jaguars Linebackers

The Jaguars have had a bit of movement in their linebacking core this offseason, but there is reason to be excited about the team's present and future at linebacker. 

By Nick Kramarich
​@nkramarich

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As the Jaguars headed into OTAs we saw a few key position changes in the linebacker room. One of the changes being a veteran Jaguar, Paul Posluszny. Posluszny was moved from MLB to SAM linebacker. A SAM LB is one that lines up on the strong side of the formation and reads the offense depending on the position of the tight end. Basically, he just got moved from MLB to an outside linebacker. This move was made to give our three talented linebackers Posluszny, Smith, and Jack different positions so the team could fully utilize all the talent they have at that position. This move for Posluszny was and still will be a challenge for him, but with the help of the other LBs Jack and Smith, and his own tireless work ethic I have no doubt he will be able to pick up the position quickly being the player with the defensive IQ that he has.

The reason Posluszny was move to strong side line back was to make room in the starting lineup for the team's future at linebacker - Myles Jack. Myles Jack is coming into his second year and has high expectations to have a solid and consistent season at middle linebacker with the absence of Posluszny in front of him. This important change in the defense leads to three future possibilities that should excite many Jaguar fans.

1. Jack, Posluszny, and Smith all on the field at once. This trio at LB could improve our defense drastically if we had all three, star athletes on the field holding it down in the middle. We saw all three on the field some more at the end of the 2016 season, but with an offseason of work together this could be a truly dynamic group.

2. Myles Jack will see much more playing time. Coming off his rookie year he didn't get a whole lot of playing time with Paul Posluszny in front of him and being relegated to Otto, a position which no longer exists for the Jaguars, Jack didn't see as much playing time as he should have. With more playing time in the future comes more time for improvement and maturing for Jack. He's got some big shoes to fill, but he has the skill set to do it. 

3. Myles Jack can eventually become the new, improved PP51. With tutelage from none other than Pos himself I feel Myles Jack could learn how to hold down the MLB spot just as well and possibly even better than Pos did. Posluszny is a talented, very smart player and if he could pass some of that wisdom onto the younger players it could have benefit the Jaguars LBs and defense as a whole for years to come. 

Next year will be a very exciting and experimental year for linebacker coach Mark Collins and the rest of the Jaguar defense. Hopefully Paul Posluszny can make the switch as smooth as possible and lead the other linebackers, and the whole defense as Captain to many future wins.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below

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