For years the Jacksonville Jaguars fans suffered the consequences of bad drafting and free agent acquisitions. Those days are long behind us.
ESPN released their list of top 100 NFL players, and six Jaguars made their list.
All on defense.
- Jalen Ramsey, not surprisingly, rated the highest, finding himself 9th. He was the highest rated cornerback, and was the 3rd defensive player chosen behind Aaron Donald (3rd) and Von Miller (5th).
- A.J. Bouye slotted 47th, and 5th amongst cornerbacks. Aside from Ramsey, Patrick Peterson (20th), Marshon Lattimore (26th), and Xavier Rhodes (34th).
- Calais Campbell, 23rd, was the 3rd best defensive end, behind Khalil Mack (10th) and Joey Bosa (14th).
These rankings fell about where I would expect them. Cornerback is a talent rich position, and there is no shame in how the top five played out. What did shock me is where the Jaguars linebackers rated, and the placement of Yannick Ngakoue.
- Yannick fell all the way to 76th, and indication that his value is some type of Jaguars secret. He was 11th amongst all defensive ends. My guess is this will further serve to poke the bear that is Ngakoue.
- Rounding out the list of Jaguars are Myles Jack, 78th, and Telvin Smith, 92nd. Telvin was only ahead of Deion Jones (96th) at the linebacker position (which was rated by inside, middle, and outside). Telvin’s performance on the field would seem to give him a leg up on Myles in the rankings, whom it may be argued has a higher ceiling.
Compared to other teams, only Minnesota and Philadelphia (7) had more players on the list than the Jaguars, with Atlanta and San Diego also at (6). However, Jacksonville carried the highest number of defensive players by any team.
For some context, here is a Jaguars comparison between NFL Network and ESPN rankings as voted by NFL players and ESPN writers, respectively.
ESPN vs NFL Network
Player | ESPN Ranking | NFLN Ranking |
---|---|---|
Player | ESPN Ranking | NFLN Ranking |
Jalen Ramsey | 9 | 17 |
Calais Campbell | 23 | 14 |
A. J. Bouye | 47 | 35 |
Yannick Ngakoue | 76 | 88 |
Myles Jack | 78 | NR |
Telvin Smith | 92 | 67 |
Lenoard Fournette | NR | 58 |