Taven Bryan: I need to step it up

[Jaxson De Ville]

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Defensive lineman Taven Bryan was Jacksonville’s first-round pick in 2018, but that didn’t translate to a lot of time or impact on the field.

Bryan played under 30 percent of the team’s defensive snaps while appearing in every game and finished the year with 20 tackles and a sack. His second NFL preseason hasn’t gotten off to a much better start.

John Reid of the Florida Times-Union points out that Bryan has not shown improvement using his hands to fend off blockers and that he got blown off the ball against the Eagles in last week’s game. Bryan acknowledges that he has work to do in order to find more success this year.

“I haven’t really shown what I can do,” Bryan said. “I just got to work on a lot of things. I have to make sure my pass rush looks a little better. I know I’m pushing the pocket and stuff, but you need stats obviously. Stats help the team. The more pressure, the more hits and touches you can get on a man, the better we can do. I really got to step it up.”

The Jaguars are playing Bryan at defensive tackle this year after shuffling him between tackle and end last year. Defensive coordinator Todd Wash thinks that will help Bryan achieve better results, but the proof remains elusive at this point.