Top Jaguars free agents of the Dave Caldwell era: No. 3 Malik Jackson

We’re counting down the top Jacksonville Jaguars free agents of the Dave Caldwell era. In at No. 3 is Malik Jackson.

Free agency is always a sketchy affair that you always end up overspending on. The team may never actually get its $90 million worth, but his two seasons in Jacksonville have been very, very productive.

He ended his first season with a career high in sacks (6.5) and was a big reason rookie defensive end Yannick Ngakoue broke the Jaguars rookie sack record with 8.0 sacks on the season. Jackson was consistently a disruptive force in the opposing team’s backfield for the Jaguars and it doesn’t appear like he’s going to be slowing down, as he got better as the season rolled on.

And last year was more of the same, finishing the year with 8.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, and three passes defended. His ability to alternatively fill gaps and wreck the interior offensive line allowed the Jaguars to have two defensive linemen finish with double-digit sacks — Calais Campbell with 14.0 and Yannick Ngakoue with 12.5.

This could very well be his last season in Jacksonville, but if he has the same sort of production this year as he has the last two years it will be well worth the $90 million contract we handed him in 2016.