Two Jaguars rookies named to PFWA All-Rookie Team

While Jaguars rookies were notoriously snubbed from Pepsi’s NFL Rookie of the Year honors just a few weeks ago, two Jaguars rookies were able to play well enough to be named to PFWA (Pro Football Writers of America) All-Rookie Team.

Announced today, both rookie right tackle Jawaan Taylor and defensive end Josh Allen were named on the PFWA All-Rookie team. Allen and Taylor were taken in the first and second round, respectively in the 2019 NFL draft. Both players played in all 16 games for the Jaguars, with Taylor playing all 1,091 snaps on offense — the first Jaguars rookie to play all offensive snaps since offensive lineman Maurice Williams in 2001.

Taylor played admirably during his rookie season with his best performance coming in week 15 against the Oakland Raiders. Taylor graded out at a 92% in his post-game evaluation with the coaches. On the year, while the rookie tackle struggled with penalties, he rarely gave up sacks — especially near the end of the season. According to Pro Football Focus, Taylor surrendered eight sacks on the year, and only two in the team’s final 10 games of the season.

Allen, the team’s number one pick from a year ago, finished the season by leading all rookies in sacks with 10.5. The former outside linebacker out of Kentucky displayed elite athleticism at the defensive end position opposite of defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell on gameday. While he never played the majority of the snaps for the Jaguars, Allen netted just one pressure short of Ngakoue with 49 according to Pro Football Focus.

Neither player earned PFWA honors for offensive, defensive or overall rookie of the year, however being named is an honor in and of itself. The Jaguars will hope both players make a leap next year, adding more talent to an incredibly young roster.