JACKSONVILLE – He's a leader, and he likes where he's leading.
Jourdan Lewis is a veteran cornerback who was elected team captain in his first season with the Jaguars –and if such responsibility is unusual so quickly, it feels appropriate in this case. This is right fit for Lewis at the right time.
"I always wanted to be a guy people could depend and lean on in the locker room," Lewis said as the Jaguars (1-0) prepared to play the Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sunday.
Lewis, a nine-year NFL veteran who spent eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent this past March, joined senior writer John Oehser for this 2025 Week 2 O-Zone Podcast.
He discussed multiple topics, including the revitalized and revamped energy and focus around the Jaguars in a new regime with a new head coach, new general manager, a largely new coaching staff – and a roster that features 25 players new to the organization this season.
"It means the world," said Lewis, who registered five tackles with an interception, a fumble recovery and three passes defense and a quarterback pressure in a 26-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 this past Sunday.
"We have the talent to go do it and the right mindset to go do really good things. We got everything right: The front office, the coaching staff, the players. It's a perfect storm. When you have those three things in unison, you can do really good things."
Lewis called being elected captain by his teammates a huge honor.
"I've been waiting for that for a while," he said. "To have that 'C' on the jersey, to go out and represent the guys, the staff, the right way and for them to believe in me as early as they have … it means the world.
"I'm ready to run through a wall for them because they believe in me."
He also spoke of assuming a leadership role in his first season with an organization. Lewis credited Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone and Head Coach Liam Coen for making it easy to be a perfect fit.
"James told me to come here and be myself," Lewis said. "When I first talked to Coach Liam he told me, 'Just come in here and be who you are.' I know they had been watching me. They knew what they were getting in me. They knew the type of person I was.
"It was just easy because I could be who I am. I didn't have to do anything I wasn't used to doing. I came in and was the person I am."
To listen to the entire O-Zone Podcast with Lewis, tune-in below. For more interviews on the O-Zone Podcast, click HERE.
