The Jaguars' 2019 season was an unmitigated disaster. No matter how you break it down, there's no way we could have expected it to go quite how it did. Telvin Smith went Awol. Jalen Ramsey faked an injury and forced a trade. Tom Coughlin cost the team hundreds of thousands of dollars by fining players without cause and made the Jaguars' entire organization the laughing stock of the NFL. But despite all of the negatives, some encouraging developments can help stabilize the franchise moving forward. Josh Allen racked up 10.5 sacks as a rookie. The seventh overall pick in the 2019 Draft, Josh Allen, was a revelation for the Jaguars in 2019. Thanks to the Raiders selection of Clelin Ferrell, Allen fell to the Jaguars, and they quickly nabbed the young pass rusher. His 10.5 sacks are a rookie franchise record, and he led all rookies in sacks this season. Allen is a player that should continue to develop during his tenure in Jacksonville. DJ Chark emerged as a rising star. The Jaguars' second-year wideout was massively disappointing as a rookie, but in 2019 a flip switched. Thanks to an offseason of hard work, Chark burst out the gates in 2019 and became a consistent threat for the Jags. Despite a slow finish, thanks in large part to an injury, Chark still surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. He finished the season with 1,008 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 73 catches. Chark is a legit starting receiver, and a player this offense can continue to build around. Leonard Fournette became a do-it-all workhorse back. Despite running behind a porous run-blocking offensive line, Leonard Fournette was a consistent source of yards and first downs this season. Fournette finished with 1,152 yards on the ground, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. But even more impressive was his work catching the ball out of the backfield. Fournette led the Jaguars in receptions with 76 and added 522 yards through the air. Fournette has one year left on his rookie deal — not including his fifth-year option — and will look to continue building his role as a team leader and offensive catalyst. Josh Lambo is still the best kicker in football.
Since arriving in Jacksonville, Josh Lambo has been the most accurate kicker in football. It's not up for debate. During his time as a Big Cat, no kicker has matched his 94.7% accuracy on field-goal tries. And in 2019, Josh Lambo actually improved on that somehow. He made 33/34 FG attempts (97.1%). The Jaguars can rest easy knowing they don't have a problem at kicker. Logan Cooke found consistency and became an elite punter. The second-year punter had flashes of brilliance as a rookie, but he also made some deflating mistakes in 2018. This season though, Logan Cooke emerged as an elite punter. He led the AFC in net average and finished third overall in net punting. The Jaguars have the ninth and twentieth overall picks. Thanks to the Jaguars being violently bad against the run, and having an inconsistent offense, the Jaguars have the ninth overall pick. And thanks to Jalen Ramsey forcing his way out of Duval, they also have the twentieth pick. With those two picks, the Jaguars have a number of options. They can add two potential building blocks; they can trade up to acquire an elite talent in their eyes; Heck, they could even trade down to add more picks. Regardless, they're set up nicely to try and turn this franchise around in 2020. PS Pay Yan. Follow Jordan on Twitter for all the latest Jaguars news and analysis. |
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