Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen talks philosophy, doesn't want to pigeon-hole players too early

Football is the ultimate chess match. Coaching staffs stand on opposite sidelines while attempting to move their pieces into the best position to secure victory for their teams.

And the early impression from first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen is he’s going to be a master at the game.

Nielsen addressed media Monday before the Jacksonville Jaguars opened the first day of organized team activities (OTAs) and discussed some of his philosophies on how he envisions using players to their strength.

“We want to have the best matchups for our guys to have success,” Nielsen said. “So, we'll manipulate the front, covers, and things that we're doing to put our guys in the best matchups for them and then ultimately play our best defense and win games. So, it'll always be designed around winning.”

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That could involve a few defensive players aligning in positions other than their current ones. Think Josh Allen playing inside along the defensive line, or safety Darnell Savage moving around the secondary. Nielsen talked about both Monday.

“Another thing to that is we don't want [Allen] just to be on the right side and they know he's right here all the time and they can chip or put a tight end to his side and take what he does away,” Nielsen said. “Then we’ve got to beat two guys to get to the quarterback. If we move him, it makes him a little bit harder for an offense to find out and identify where he's at every snap.”

“He's aligning at nickel, at safety,” Nielsen said of Savage. “In a pinch, he can run so we can put him in some man coverage situations. So, he's a great guy to have.”

‘They’re linebackers’: Nielsen envisions Devin Lloyd, Yasir Abdullah taking on versatile roles

Keeping track with the versatility of his defense, Nielsen talked about linebackers Devin Lloyd and Yasir Abdullah, revealing how he envisions the pair of players.

Whereas Abdullah was an edge rusher and Lloyd was more of a traditional linebacker last year, this coaching staff is going to test the waters with both.

“We don't want to just pigeon-hole guys right now,” Nielsen said. “We're going to put them at these different positions in OTAs because it's a great opportunity to see what guys can do. Then as we see their job and if they can do certain jobs then we'll start to fine-tune a package more for their skillset."

While it’s still too early to evaluate how both players will fit into the scheme, the coaching staff is using this opportunity to figure out what the players can and can’t do.

“I'm excited, I really am excited about it and I think our staff is really excited about that position group because we've got a lot of good players in our defense,” Nielsen said.

‘There’s no depth chart’: Jaguars, Nielsen allowing reps to all players on the roster during OTAs

One thing that was emphasized by head coach Doug Pederson and Nielsen was the absence of a depth chart for the team currently. There are locked in starters, of course, but the team is in an evaluation period where they need to get as many players on the grass as they can.

That means a surefire starter like Tyson Campbell will be on the field sharing reps with second-year cornerback Christian Braswell, who missed his entire rookie season.

And players will see staggered reps throughout the OTA period, creating opportunities for players who are competing for end-of-roster spots.

“You're going to see a bunch of different combinations when you're out there because we want to see guys lineup [at] safety, corner and nickel. We want to see them line up at all of these different positions and give everybody an opportunity as we go through the OTA practices,” Nielsen said. “It's really important to see the growth, what they can handle, playing different alignments, techniques and positions. Pressure blitzing, covering, fitting the run game, things like that. In the secondary we've got really good depth, we'll see how it goes out there."

Nielsen discusses edge position with players on roster vying for depth spots

The depth behind Allen and Walker is scarce. Jacksonville has players on the roster, but they’re largely unproven. Nielsen discussed some of those players, including seventh-round draft pick Myles Cole.

Nielsen said outside linebackers coaches Mario Jeberaeel and Bill Shuey discovered Cole and brought him to the attention of the rest of the staff during the draft process. The coaches liked his measurables and feel positively about what they’ve seen so far.

"He's a young guy that's got to learn, just like all the rookies, but we're excited about his growth,” Nielsen said. “He's been really good in terms of putting the extra time in right now. He's done a good job of being in the right spots on the field.”

Another player the team brought in was Trevis Gipson, a veteran defender who has 11 career sacks in his four years in the NFL. Gipson’s best season was his second year in the league, recording a career-best seven sacks for the Bears while starting nine games and appearing in 16.

“Within what we do, he fits the mold,” Nielsen said of Gipson. “Haven't played a play yet but [we’re] excited about what we've seen on the tape. He's a tireless worker, intelligent player, I think he's got a bright future.”

Juston Lewis is a Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on the website formerly known as Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen talks Josh Allen, more ahead of OTAs