Tre Herndon off to a strong start in 2023: ‘I feel good in the slot’

Veteran cornerback Tre Herndon III briefly hit the free agency market earlier this year, but re-signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a one-year deal. While it’s still early in the 2023 season, the Jaguars’ decision to bring back Herndon has looked like a wise one.

Through two games, Herndon’s 76.3 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus is easily the best of his career and fifth best on the Jaguars defense behind Andre Cisco, Josh Allen, Darious Williams, and Tyson Campbell.

Herndon, 27, first joined the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and has made 31 starts in his six-year career. But a recent move inside to the middle of the secondary has helped propel a recent surge.

“I feel good in the slot,” Herndon said after practice Thursday. “Coming in, I just wanted to make sure I could be as versatile as possible to help the team. So being able to play in the slot and be comfortable there is great, but if they need me to go outside, I like being able to do that, as well.”

With Campbell and Williams holding down the outside cornerback roles, Herndon has been freed up to do a little bit of everything at nickel. He’s found his way into the backfield on a couple blitzes, recording two quarterback pressures. Herndon also forced a fumble in Week 2 when he fought through blocks on a screen to hit the Kansas City Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney near the line of scrimmage.

Most importantly, he’s been reliable in coverage. On Thursday, Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said Herndon was part of the reason Cisco was able to pull down an interception Sunday against Patrick Mahomes.

“If you look at the play, Tre Herndon was in great position, he was on top of the receiver,” Caldwell said. “He threw the ball to the opposite hash, we had a half-field safety over there which was Andre. He ended up where he was supposed to be and made a good play.”

Safety Andre Cisco just watching Mahomes eyes here on this interception pic.twitter.com/RHLFyNGoQw

— Fitz (@LaurieFitzptrck) September 18, 2023

“It’s going solid, man,” Herndon said of his season so far. “There’s a lot of things I could improve on, but it’s early in the season and I’m grateful to be healthy and be able to see those things to improve on, and build on as this long season proceeds.

“It’s been solid. I got my hands on the ball a couple times. I could fix some tackling, some reading keys a little faster, but it’s been good.”