The Dolphins face off against the Jaguars, who gave up nearly 240 passing yards a game last season. The Jaguars have a new defensive coordinator, Ryan Nielsen, who comes over from Atlanta after spending time as the DC for former head coach Arthur Smith. In 2023, the Falcons played press coverage a whopping 53.7% of the time, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Playing press coverage against possibly the fastest and twitchiest receivers in the league could spell trouble. With a new scheme and lack of depth in the secondary, Waddle and Hill could be in for a big day against Jaguars’ corners Tyson Campbell and Ronald Darby. Campbell and Darby are solid veterans but not your everyday lockdown corners against great receivers like Waddle and Hill.
Smith-Njigba has been tapped as a guy who could have his breakout season in 2024. The former first-round pick had a nice rookie season, but he is looking to take the next step. The Seahawks square off with the Denver Broncos and their young secondary. Denver boasts three new starters in the secondary, including CB Riley Moss, S P.J. Locke, and Brandon Jones. Denver DC Vance Joseph has fully installed his system after attempting to harvest some of former DCs Vic Fangio and Ejiro Evero’s schemes. Joseph has traditionally been known to blitz heavily and play man-to-man. However, the Broncos may not have the personnel on the back end to make this work. With newly-paid Pat Surtain II primarily on D.K. Metcalf, Smith-Njigba could see an uptick in targets on Sunday against Ja’Quan McMillan in the slot. McMillan is still finding his way in his second season in the NFL and has great potential, but Smith-Njigba won over 52% of his routes last season as a rookie. He will be better and get the best of McMillan.
Addison has been battling injury, but the HC Kevin O’Connell says he feels confident Addison will play Sunday. Addison will be lining up against a lackluster Giants secondary under a new defensive coordinator in Shane Bowen. Bowen comes over from Tennessee, where he served in the same position. The Titans’ secondary was not all that impressive during Bowen’s tenure, but it did not have to be most of the time because of the front-four pass rush. The Giants will show more two-high safety, indicating zone defense. Addison won 57.9% of his routes against zone defense last season, according to PlayerProfiler. Justin Jefferson will get his, but look for Addison to break free in this zone offense against Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott. Flott is still a work in progress for the Giants, but he will have help over the top with safeties Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton. Even with help, Addison will have the clear talent advantage.
