Jaguars' Josh Allen, DJ Chark Named to CBS Sports Top 100 Players of 2020
In the midst of an offseason where it appears most analysts have pegged the Jacksonville Jaguars as this year's version of what people thought the "tanking" Miami Dolphins would be last year, it is noteworthy to see the Jaguars get national praise.
Such is the case following the release of CBS Sports' and Pete Prisco's list of the top 100 players for the 2020 NFL season, which features two of Jacksonville's best and most important players.
Second-year defensive end Josh Allen was the Jaguars' highest-ranked player on the list, coming in at No. 88 after he led the Jaguars and all rookies in sacks last year with 10.5. The figure also set a franchise rookie record, and helped propel the 2019 No. 7 overall pick to the Pro Bowl in his first season.
"This is an emerging player who should be higher on this list next year. As a rookie, he had 10.5 sacks to lead all rookies," Prisco wrote.
As a rookie, Allen recorded 44 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and 23 quarterback hits despite starting just four games and playing only 60% of the defense's snaps. Allen was everything the Jaguars could have hoped for and more as a rookie, and with the uncertain future surrounding veteran defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, Allen is even more vital to the Jaguars' success moving forward.
Allen is one of the true building blocks of the Jaguars' future and should be expected to be one of the faces of the franchise moving forward. It would be genuinely surprising to see him not to continue to trend upward and make another appearance on this list in 2021.
Following Allen was third-year wide receiver DJ Chark, who led the Jaguars in receiving yards and touchdowns in his sophomore season in 2019. Chark, who earned a Pro Bowl nod, was listed by Prisco at No. 98, just ahead of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard.
"In his second season, he emerged as a big-play threat outside for the Jaguars. He had 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. As the offense improves, his numbers will go up," Prisco wrote.
Chark was the first Jaguars' offensive player to make the Pro Bowl since Allen Robinson in 2015. The team's 2018 second-round pick bounced back from a rookie season in which he caught just 14 passes for 174 yards, developing into one of the AFC's top big-play threats and the Jaguars' most valuable weapon.
Moving forward, no offensive player aside from quarterback Gardner Minshew II is more vital to the Jaguars' success than Chark. He has the traits to stretch the field, win in between the numbers, and provide a yards after catch threat for Minshew and new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.
Also named to Prisco's list were two former Jaguars in cornerback Jalen Ramsey (No. 26) and defensive lineman Calais Campbell (No. 39), each of whom the Jaguars have traded in the past year.
"He has the talent to be much higher on this list, but a bad situation in Jacksonville – some of it self-inflicted – led to a trade to the Rams during the 2019 season, which led to some adjusting on his part," Prisco wrote about Ramsey.
Ngakoue was also listed by Prisco as a player who "just missed" the list following a season in which he recorded eight sacks and forced four fumbles.
