Sports Illustrated Tabs Brandon Linder as Jaguars Most Underrated Player

When it comes to the Jacksonville Jaguars, it isn't always easy to peg a player as underrated. The simple nature of the beast is that the Jaguars, for a few different reasons, fly a bit under the radar as it is due to their history of losing.

But that doesn't mean the Jaguars don't have players who deserve more shine and recognition than they currently get. A number of players come to mind when considering 'underrated', such as D.J. Hayden, James O'Shaughnessy, Keelan Cole and others.

However, when talking about the Jaguars player who is most unfairly overlooked, there can't be any other answer than center Brandon Linder, the team's third-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft.

This much was agreed upon by Sports Illustrated's own Conor Orr, who tabbed Linder as the Jaguars most underrated player as he selected one unheralded player from each AFC squad.

"Arguably one of the best picks of the Dave Caldwell era, Linder may have had his best season in 2019 (Pro Football Reference’s approximate value ranking seems to agree). One of the best indications of a player’s value—to me—is trust from the coaching staff, and no team in the NFL ran right up the middle behind the center more than the Jaguars in 2019 (165 attempts, which is more than TRIPLE the next most utilized gap)," Orr wrote.

Taking all of general manager Dave Caldwell's picks into consideration, it is hard to think Linder isn't one of the three to four best picks he has ever made. He found a multi-year starter in the final round of day two, something any team would be happy with. Linder has been an offensive captain for several years now and was a huge part of the team's offensive success during their 2017 run to the AFC Championship game.

"He’s having a good year. He’s probably one of the brighter sports of the team in a bad situation [and] not playing well, but he’s actually been playing well," head coach Doug Marrone said toward the end of last season.

"Actually, I think recently what you’ve seen is his play has actually gotten better, so he’s finishing stronger and that’s what you want to do. You want to start strong and finish stronger, so I think he’s doing a very good job of that. He’s done a good job of maintaining his body during the year. Last year he’s always been nicked up and hurt, but he’s been pretty consistent this year and I think he’s done a really good job of managing himself and playing well.”

Since entering the league in 2014, Linder ranks 11th among qualifying guards and centers in overall grade, and he ranks fourth among centers since taking over the starting job there in 2016, trailing only Jason Kelce, Alex Mack and Travis Frederick, Pro Football Focus wrote earlier this offseason.

Considering Linder has yet to be named to a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team in his six years in the NFL, it is more than fair to say he has been underrated up to this point. The big knocks against Linder have been his injury history (missed 13 games in 2015 and seven in 2018) and the fact that he has only played on one winning team since being drafted.

However, Linder played all 16 games for the first time in his career in 2019 and it appears as if his arrow is pointing up as he anchors the middle of the offensive line yet again.

Do you agree with Linder being Jacksonville's most underrated player, or do you have another player in mind? Let us know in the comments below!