JACKSONVILLE – The fit should be good, and the talent is obvious.
When it comes to Marcell Dareus' transition to the Jaguars, defensive coordinator Todd Wash on Thursday said it shouldn't be overly difficult.
"The biggest thing is he's got to start to understand our terminology," Wash said Thursday as the Jaguars (4-3) prepared to play the Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) at EverBank Field Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Once he gets that down, we'll be in great shape."
Dareus, a 2013-2014 Pro Bowl selection at defensive tackle, was acquired by the Jaguars in a trade with the Buffalo Bills this past Friday. He practiced with the Jaguars Monday, and again Wednesday and Thursday.
Dareus has 35 career sacks, registering 10 in 2014 and 7.5 in 2013. Those were the two seasons Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone spent as the Bills' head coach. Dareus also is a disruptive presence against the run and could impact the NFL's 32nd-ranked run defense.
"He can be dominant," Wash said. "He's a guy who can stay on the line of scrimmage and control the line of scrimmage extremely well. He's got enough urgency and suddenness to push the pocket and get to the quarterback. He's an every-down player, which is obviously something we need to continue to add to our defense. I think he's going to sturdy up some things."
Wash didn't specify Dareus' potential role Sunday; he can play either nose or three-technique tackle. Abry Jones has started seven games at nose for the Jaguars this season with Malik Jackson starting all seven games at the three-technique.
Jones has played 49.6 percent of the Jaguars' plays this season, with Jackson playing 69.8 percent of the plays.
Dareus played the early part of his NFL career in a 4-3 scheme similar to the one the Jaguars use. He played in a 3-4 scheme in 2015 and 2016, but Wash said Dareus is a good fit in the 4-3.
"We're going to have more of a rotation," Wash said. "Some of our guys have been playing a bit too many snaps. We'd like to have a three- and a four-man rotation inside. This allows us to do that, so we're excited to keep everybody fresh for the full four quarters and even see more production out of all of them.
"We felt as a defensive staff and as an organization that we needed to add some more depth inside. Obviously, we're fortunate to get him. We've added a quality football player to go along with the quality football players we have."
All three Jaguars coordinators – Nathaniel Hackett on offense, Wash on defense and Joe DeCamillis on special teams – spoke to the media Thursday. Notes and observations from Coordinator Thursday:
*Wash on Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, a six-time Pro Bowl selection who has 572 yards and four touchdowns this season: "He's a guy who's targeted a lot; he's covered, and [Bengals quarterback] Andy Dalton will still throw it to him. Both of our corners (Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye) are going to have their hands full with him depending on which side of the field he lines up on. He's something to deal with every snap. He can take it to the house every snap, and he's big and physical enough to go across the middle. He's a handful." …
*Hackett on how Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins compares to Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, perhaps the two best tackles the Jaguars faced in the first seven games of 2017: "He's a little different. He's really strong and powerful and has a lot of veteran savvy to him. He also plays with quickness. He's a guy you lose sleep over. He's been a very good player in this league and can dominate." …
*Hackett said the Bengals' defense poses a different challenge being a 4-3-based scheme as opposed to the 3-4 system essentially used by the Jaguars' first seven opponents. "It's completely different," Hackett said. "Every week you have different challenges. Every team does different things. This team is dramatically different from all of the other ones we've seen. The positive thing is it's what our defense does. We get to go back to what we've been going against in OTAs (organized team activities in the offseason) and training camp, so there is some recall there. But it is different. We've got other challenges we have to face now." …
*The Jaguars' injury report stayed the same from Wednesday to Thursday, with wide receiver Marqise Lee (knee) the only player missing practice Thursday. Left tackle Cam Robinson (ankle) practiced limited a second consecutive day, with running back Leonard Fournette (ankle) and center Brandon Linder (illness) working full for a second consecutive day. Quarterback Blake Bortles (right wrist) also practiced full for a second consecutive day. …
