The Jacksonville Jaguars were under three minutes away from their first Super Bowl in 2017. These five players will be pivotal for them if they want to get there in 2018.
The Jacksonville Jaguars surprised the footballing landscape in 2017, featuring a premier defense that carried them to their first AFC South division title. Their success can be attributed to the emergence of Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye at the cornerback spot, as well as Yannick Ngakoue and Telvin Smith in the front seven.
Can the Jaguars defense replicate or even exceed their success in 2018? Can Blake Bortles and the Jaguars offense do enough to get them past Tom Brady this go around? If the Jaguars want to take it one step further in 2018 then they need some more breakout stars to emerge.
Who could those players be? Let’s take a look.
5. Leonard Fournette, RB
Despite amassing over 1,000 yards and nine rushing touchdowns for the Jaguars last season, Leonard Fournette could well exceed both numbers in 2018.
As a rookie running back, Fournette wasn’t used to the wear, tear and grind of the NFL season. Fournette didn’t play more than 13 games a year at LSU. He missed three games last season with an ankle injury and seemed hampered by it all season. With the whole offseason to recover, Fournette will be good to go heading into the season.
The Jaguars also took steps to shore up the offensive line in 2018 by spending big money on free agent guard Andrew Norwell, formerly of the Carolina Panthers. Brandon Linder remains one of the premier interior lineman in the NFL and Cam Robinson exceeded expectations as a rookie himself in 2017. The team could also target an offensive lineman early in the upcoming draft.
The Jaguars re-signed Blake Bortles this offseason and, given their moves in free agency, smash mouth, old-school football will be the team’s identity in 2018. With more carries and a better offensive line, Fournette could go for over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns in his sophomore season.