The Seattle Seahawks had the No. 1 scoring defense in 2012 thanks to consistent play from defensive backs Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley likely had his former defense in mind when he approached his first draft in the big chair.
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The Jags didn't target an outside linebacker or pass-rushing defensive end. They picked five defensive backs in the 2013 NFL Draft.
"That was identified early on in the process," Jags general manager Dave Caldwell said, per The Florida Times-Union's Ryan O'Halloran. "We're a system-specific team on defense, and we created some of our own urgency there (by cutting veterans). But we knew it was a good year in the secondary for this draft."
The Jags took Florida International safety John Cyprien (No. 33 overall), Connecticut cornerback Dwayne Gratz (No. 64), Florida safety Josh Evans (No. 169), New Mexico State cornerback Jeremy Harris (No. 208) and Appalachian State cornerback Demetrius McCray (No. 210).
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Bradley emphasized the importance of rush ends in his 4-3/3-4 hybrid defense at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
"We like to have those rush-type people on the right side. We call it the Leo end," Bradley said at the time. "We've had some success up in Seattle with them -- the Chris Clemonses, the Bruce Irvins. So we'll take a hard look at those guys in the draft -- the outside linebacker types.
"We have a philosophy that we'd like to eventually get to. That's getting those ends on the perimeter that can rush, not only on first and second down, but third down as well."
The Jags apparently decided that additions to the front seven can wait.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
