ESPN's Seth Walder made his 2026 bold prediction for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it centered around a breakout performer from the 2025 season taking a step back.
Cornerback Montaric Brown proved to be very sticky in coverage last season. On 63 targets, he allowed a completion rate of just 54%. He also showcased good ball production, logging two interceptions with nine pass breakups.
As Walder notes, Brown allowed just 0.8 yards per coverage snap.
However, Walder also believes that a repeat performance from Brown in 2026 isn't sustainable. In fact, he is predicting that Brown will record a "worse-than-average yards allowed per coverage snap (1.1 per Next Gen Stats)."
Here's why:
"Brown is coming off a breakout season in which he allowed 0.8 yards
per coverage snap, but that was fueled by a negative-5% completion percentage over expected," Walder wrote. "I'm betting that last year will look like the outlier when we zoom out."
If Travis Hunter ends up performing at the level that the Jaguars think he can at cornerback, opposing quarterbacks may end up looking Brown's way relatively often.
Following his impressive 2025 season, the Jaguars signed Brown to a three-year, $31.8 million deal this offseason.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Bold prediction for Jaguars centers around breakout player regressing
