The Jacksonville Jaguars have their eyes on a versatile new weapon for their secondary, and his name is Jalen Huskey. With the starting lineup largely locked in for 2026, the team has been quietly building depth—and Huskey fits the bill perfectly.
Coming out of Maryland, Huskey is exactly the kind of player general manager James Gladstone loves: a defensive back who can line up anywhere in the secondary. Think of him as a mirror image of what Antonio Johnson brought from Texas A&M—only with even more positional flexibility. Huskey spent his first two college seasons at cornerback before shifting to safety, giving him a rare blend of coverage instincts and physicality.
At 6'1" and 196 pounds, Huskey has the frame to match up against bigger receivers and tight ends—a crucial asset as NFL offenses lean harder into multiple tight-end sets. It's the same thinking that led the Jaguars to draft Nate Boerkircher: prepare for the trend before it becomes a problem.
What really sets Huskey apart is his nose for the football. He's a certified ball-hawk, grabbing three or more interceptions in each of his last three seasons. Between high school and college, he's hauled in an incredible 29 picks. For a Jaguars defense that fed off turnovers last year, he's a natural fit.
Unsurprisingly, Huskey excels in coverage. At Maryland, he allowed a completion rate of just 58.6% and an NFL passer rating of 52.0. But his numbers after switching to safety are especially eye-popping: 18 receptions allowed on 24 targets for just 130 yards, zero touchdowns, and five interceptions in zone coverage. That's an NFL rating of 40.6—absolutely elite production from a player still finding his groove.
Last season, the Jaguars ran sub packages on 74% of snaps and frequently used some of the lightest boxes in the league. With Johnson stepping into the starting safety role vacated by Andrew Wingard, there's a clear opening for Huskey to compete for snaps in big nickel and dime packages.
He'll likely battle Caleb Ransaw—the Jaguars' 2025 version of Huskey, who also made the corner-to-safety transition—for playing time. But as things stand, Huskey may already have the edge in readiness. For a team looking to reload on defense, this is exactly the kind of versatile, playmaking depth that wins games.