The Jacksonville Jaguars had a season to forget in 2019. Finishing 6-10, expectations were higher than fourth place in the AFC South. However, there were still players who stood out. The team may have a long way to go to be a contender, but there is a good group of young players that are fun to watch. Second-year receiver DJ Chark headlines the list of 2019 superlatives. We’ll take a look at the best player, most improved, best rookie, and the biggest surprise.
DJ Chark Leads Jacksonville Jaguars 2019 Superlatives
Best Player: DJ Chark
Chark completed his second NFL season in 2019 with the Jaguars. He struggled his rookie year, so he could just as easily be the most improved, but Chark was the biggest offensive weapon for Jacksonville in 2019. He finished the season with 73 receptions for 1008 yards and eight touchdowns. Chark’s 2019 campaign was much better than the previous year. In 2018, Chark had just 14 catches for 174 yards and no touchdowns.
Chark showed that he is a vertical threat and that he was worthy of the second-round selection that brought him to Jacksonville. At the start of the season, Chark was still a question mark, but by the end, teams had to make a game plan for how they would contain him.
Most Improved: Leonard Fournette
Leonard Fournette needed a big season in 2019. His second year in the league was a major letdown due to nagging injuries and attitude issues. In 2019, Fournette proved that he’s serious about football and he had a good year. Fournette ran the ball 265 times for 1152 yards with three touchdowns in 2019. Add to that 76 receptions for 522 yards and its evident that Fournette is the workhorse back that he was drafted to be. Fournette played in 15 games (missing just the final game of the season), which is the most of his young career.
Best Rookie: Josh Allen
Yes, the good Josh Allen was the best rookie on the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2019 season. Allen was snubbed from the nomination list for Rookie of the Year, even though he had more sacks and forced fumbles than San Francisco 49ers rookie Nick Bosa. Allen finished his rookie year with 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 44 total tackles. His 10.5 sacks set the rookie record for the Jaguars franchise and that was all while starting just four games.
Allen had to fight for time on defense with the likes of Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell but he’ll likely get more snaps in his sophomore campaign. Allen was a steal at the seventh overall pick and he’s going to be a special player for the Jags going forward.
Biggest Surprise: Gardner Minshew II
Who would have thought that a rookie sixth-rounder would have as much success and swagger as Gardner Minshew did? Minshew took the league by storm in the 2019 season with phrases such a “Minshew Mania” becoming popular. He was a big surprise for the Jaguars after they lost Nick Foles to injury week one. Minshew was also snubbed from Rookie of the Year nominations even though he had arguably the most success of any rookie quarterback in 2019, finishing with a 6-6 starting record.
Minshew finished the season with 3271 yards along with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He had a solid completion percentage of 60.6 percent and proved to be a good scrambler. Though he had a problem with fumbles (13), Minshew has what it takes to be a successful quarterback in the league. Minshew also has the support of the fan base in Duval and he’ll likely be the starter week one in 2020.
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