The LSU defense had two players taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft — S Jamal Adams and CB Tre’Davious White.

However, the unit was also picked apart in the later rounds, as several talented Tigers were chosen by NFL squads.

Now, the Tigers are trying to pick up the pieces under second-year defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, but have gotten off to a slow start so far this year.

Still, junior CB Donte Jackson isn’t panicking, telling TheAdvertiser.com that it’s just going to take some time to get the younger players up to speed:

“We’re very close, very close,” returning starting junior cornerback Donte Jackson said. “Every time, we’re just a couple steps behind. Maybe a missed hole, maybe a missed assignment. But we’re this close. We’re an elite defense. We have a lot of great play makers. We’re just always a step behind or a coverage behind. It’s going to come gradually. Last year, we obviously had a lot of NFL players on our defense. We have a lot of young guys on this defense. So getting to that top level like last year, you can’t force it.”

LSU will have one more shot to get its defense right this weekend when the Tigers host Troy.

Then, it’s back into SEC play, where they’ll take on Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss over a three-week span. The young defense will certainly need to be up to speed by then.