Jacksonville Jaguars: A Dark Horse Candidate in the AFC?
The Jacksonville Jaguars have positioned themselves as one of the up-and-coming teams in the AFC for the 2016 season, but have they done enough to make a push for the playoffs?
We all know the New England Patriots are going to be in the playoffs yet again this season. Denver, even with the turmoil at the quarterback position, is likely to make a return trip to the playoffs, as well. The Ravens, Bengals, and Steelers are also teams you can’t count out, but who could come out of nowhere this year to make the playoffs?
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It seems like every year at least one team comes from relative obscurity to secure a birth in the playoffs. Last season, the Minnesota Vikings rebounded from a 7-9 season the year before to win the NFC North. The Carolina Panthers shocked everyone who thought they were finished after losing Kelvin Benjamin for the season to dominate the regular season and finish 15-1.
This year, I think the team in the AFC who could break out and make a surprise run to the playoffs is none other than the Jacksonville Jaguars.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the NFL as a whole really, everything starts with the play of the quarterback. It is a quarterback-driven league, and history has shown that if you are not solid at the position, it’s going to be very, very tough for you to win consistently.
It hasn’t been the smoothest road for the Jags Blake Bortles, but he seems to have put things together and is figuring out how to be a quality quarterback in this league. He saw marked improvement in almost every statistical category in his sophomore year from where he was as a rookie.
During his second season in 2015, Bortles increased his yardage by over 1,500 yards, and more than tripled his touchdowns, while throwing only one more interception on well over 100 more attempts. The Jaguars trusted Bortles to open up the offense more, and he delivered in a big way.
Though his completion percentage ticked down ever so slightly and isn’t quite where you would like to see it, I see no reason to believe that his upward trend won’t continue into next season. Not with the amount of talent the Jags have surrounded him with.
That talent begins with what might be the best wide receiver tandem in the NFL right now in the Allen Brothers (no relation). Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson made the Jaguars one of only four teams to have two wide receivers eclipse 1,000 yards last season.
However, unlike the other three duos (Thomas/Sanders in Denver, Marshall/Decker with the Jets, and Fitzgerald/Brown in Arizona), both Hurns and Robinson are in their early-to-mid 20’s.
If you are a fan of any other team in the AFC South, or the AFC as a whole for that matter, that should scare you. The idea that these two guys are this good this early, and potentially have 5-6 more prime years together is startling.
With the way that they’ve already progressed and the potential that they, along with Bortles possess, Robinson and Hurns could go down as one of the greatest duos to ever play this game, and I don’t think that’s hyperbole.
The talent on the Jags offense doesn’t stop with the young wide receivers, either. Call me crazy, but I like what Jacksonville has done with their backfield. The Jags, as a franchise, have struggled to find stability and production at the position since the departure of Fred Taylor.
As a rookie, the former Alabama Crimson Tide back T. J. Yeldon had a productive season. He tallied over 1,000 yards total (combined rushing and receiving) with three touchdowns.
The touchdown production isn’t quite where you’d like to see it, but nearly 1,000 yards on the ground and nearly 200 more receiving is respectable production from a rookie.
Yeldon won’t be alone in the backfield for the 2016 NFL season, either. In free agency, the Jaguars brought in former New York Jets running back Chris Ivory, to give them a formidable tandem at the position.
The 28-year-old Ivory is coming off of his best season as a profession, in which he ran for over 1,000 yards and scored seven touchdowns, earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl. The one-two punch of Yeldon and Ivory should give defensive coordinators fits this season.
The biggest stumbling block for the Jaguars last season was the defense, or lack thereof. They were statistically one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season, ranking 24th in yards per game, and next-to-last in points per game allowed. Addressing this side of the ball was key for the Jags, and they did so in a big way in the offseason.
Coming off a breakout season and Super Bowl Championship in 2015, the Jaguars added former Denver Broncos defensive end, Malik Jackson. Mostly overlooked in Denver with guys like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, Jackson quietly put together a solid season and was rewarded handsomely.
Whether his contribution matches his contract remains to be seen, but he is undoubtedly an upgrade at the position.
The biggest boost to the defense, however, came in the 2016 NFL Draft, when the Jaguars were lucky enough to draft not one, but two of the top defensive prospects in the entire draft with their first and second round selections.
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In the first round, they selected Jalen Ramsey, widely considered the best defensive player available, after the San Diego Chargers passed on him to take pass rusher Joey Bosa.
Whether Ramsey ultimately winds up at safety or cornerback, he is instantly penciled in as a starter for the Jags and is one of my top candidates for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Jags followed up the Ramsey steal by getting another one of the best defenders available in UCLA’s Myles Jack. Jack was my top linebacker available and certainly would have been a first-round selection were it not for concerns over the long-term health of his knee.
However, even if his knee is a ticking time-bomb as was reported, 3-4 years of Jack is better than anything the Jags had on the roster before the selection. In the list of “Draft Winners”, the Jaguars have to be near, if not at, the top.
In addition to Jackson, Ramsey, and Jack, the Jaguars defense is also being bolstered by the return of last year’s first round selection, Dante Fowler. Fowler missed his entire rookie season after being selected third overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Now fully healthy, the addition of Fowler to an improved defense should all but guarantee that the Jags don’t see a repeat of the abysmal squad of last season.
It’s not going to be an easy road for the Jaguars to make the playoffs, however. Though they play in the weakest division in the AFC, the Jags will still have to contend with a much-improved Houston Texans team, as well as the always-dangerous Indianapolis Colts.
Beyond the division, the Ravens, Steelers, Bengals, Chiefs, and Raiders should all be fighting for a limited amount of spots.
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If they play their cards right, though, and have a few things break their way, the Jacksonville Jaguars could just shock a few people and be yet another in a long line of teams to go from a losing season to the playoffs in one season.