In this second part of our Jaguars’ 4-EYED TEAM PREVIEW, we’re going to be covering the Jaguars’ IDPs that you should consider rostering for the 2021 fantasy football season.
The Jaguars are entering the 2021 season with a new DC in Joe Cullen and some new pieces in Rayshawn Jenkins, Damien Wilson, and Shaquil Griffin. They also enter the season without their IDP centerpiece, Joe Schobert. Pittsburgh acquired the All-Pro LB in exchange for draft picks and salary relief. This is definitely a move designed to help with cap space, but it’s not entirely money-driven. It is said that Schobert and Myles Jack are similar enough as LB that it is redundant to have both.
I guess we shall see how changing pieces and coordinator will do for a team that ranked 31st in team defense, 31st in total team sacks, 30th in run defense, and 27th in pass defense. Luckily from an IDP standpoint, we can focus from a micro-view instead of the macro!
So which players should we be willing to yell “Duuuuuval” on to help you win your fantasy championship?
Find out now in our 2021 Jaguars’ IDP Team Preview
Defensive Linemen/Edge Rusher
*Positional designations & ADP data brought to you by Sleeper.
Josh Allen (Current ADP: LB42/DL24)
Josh Allen is out here tossing offensive linemen 😳 @JoshAllen41_ @Jaguars
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 18, 2020
(h/t @dlinevids1) pic.twitter.com/5mI10ZbRIo
The Jags have something special in Josh Allen, they just need him to stay healthy this season. The 7th pick overall, out of Kentucky, had an amazing rookie season. He led the team with 10.5 sacks and added in 2FF, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 44 tackles. He finished as the DL32 (11.8 fppg).
Josh Allen’s 2020 didn’t quite live up to the hype as a result of a knee injury that cost him 8 games of the season. Despite missing 8 games, Allen did record 11 QB hits on 22 QB pressures. I believe it is pretty easy to look at the loss of Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngokoue and assume that had a lot to do with the drop in production.
The 2021 season is bound to be a proving ground for Allen after his disappointing 2020. Fully recovered from the knee injury, Allen is hoping that improvements across the secondary (Shaq Griffin & Tyson Campbell) will allow him a little more time to get to the QB.
Linebacker
*Positional designations & ADP data brought to you by Sleeper.
Myles Jack (Current ADP: LB30)
Quantifying off-ball LBs can be tough, partially because they play a role in coverage, run stop and pass rush.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) August 9, 2021
Here’s a plot getting at all 3. Run Stop Win Rate (x) by EPA per coverage snap allowed (y), with color indicating Pass Rush Win Rate. Up/Right/Red = good.
Some notes: pic.twitter.com/KAFhiSRFC0
The 2021 Jaguars are going to look a lot different at linebackers. With the recent trade of Joe Schobert, that pretty much leaves Myles Jack as the lone IDP relevant LB.
For the 2nd year in a row, Jack has missed some time battling injuries. Despite missing 2 games in 2020, he still tallied 118 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT, and a pair of fumble recoveries. The loss of Schobert opens the door for a higher tackle floor and should move him up a few spots in my LB rankings.
With Jacksonville likely being on the field a lot this season, I think 120+ tackles is a high probability.
Defensive Back
*Positional designations & ADP data brought to you by Sleeper.
Jarrod Wilson (Current ADP: 689.7?! Go home Sleeper….you’re drunk!)
One of the best effort plays you’ll ever see from Jarrod Wilson. Little things matter so much in football. If Carlos Hyde carries the ball in his outside arm, this is a TD. pic.twitter.com/NcWnxVEo0o
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) November 3, 2019
As with what seems like all of the pieces of the Jacksonville defense, Jarrod Wilson is looking to stay on the field in 2021. Despite missing 4 games in ’20, Wilson did put up 11.4 fppg as part of a secondary that was lacking any consistency. Only in the deepest of leagues will you draft Wilson, but he does have some run-stuffing ability. Last years’ 3 run play tackles were good for the 17th most in the NFL. Given Jacksonville’s likelihood to be in a negative game script, he could provide some situational value.
What remains to be seen is the type of defense that new DC Joe Cullen will deploy in Jacksonville. If it mirrors Baltimore and deploys a lot of single-high safety, he could fill the Deshon Elliott role, which isn’t exactly IDP gold.
