The Jacksonville Jaguars 2021 season was a historic one. Unfortunately, it was historic for all the wrong reasons. The Jags finished 3-14 and will have the number one overall pick for the second year in a row. They are only the fourth team in history to hold the number one pick in consecutive drafts. The Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cleveland Browns are the other teams to wear this ignominious crown. Though it was a disappointing season for sure, there are always players who stand out. Let’s take a look at the Jaguars 2021 season awardees.
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Jacksonville Jaguars 2021 Season Team Awards
Most Valuable Player: James Robinson
James Robinson’s season was cut short due to injury. He played in 14 games and his season ended with an Achilles tear on December 26th. However, Robinson was still the MVP of the team. This is partly because of the lack of talent on the team. But Robinson is just that important to the Jags. The undrafted sophomore back was perhaps the most consistent player on offense despite Urban Meyer’s distaste for him.
Robinson finished the season with 164 rushing attempts for 767 yards and eight touchdowns. He had 4.7 yards per carry, which is a slight increase over 4.5 per carry in his rookie year. Robinson was a welcome presence for the rookie number one pick in Trevor Lawrence. Having a back with some success in the league as a rookie quarterback is helpful. Robinson now has to focus on getting healthy again and he’ll be sorely missed until he returns.
Offensive Player of the Year: Marvin Jones
Jones was a welcome veteran presence for the Jaguars in 2021. The 1o-year veteran played the last five seasons for the Detroit Lions and is nothing if not consistent. He led the team in targets, catches, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions. Jones had 73 catches on 120 targets, 832 yards, and four touchdowns.
Lawrence threw just 12 touchdowns in his rookie year, and Jones accounted for a third of those. Yes, it’s disappointing when your leading receiver only has four touchdowns on the season. However, his offensive contribution goes beyond the stat sheet. Jones is a tough player. At 31 years old, Jones is tied with a few others for the oldest on the team. He doesn’t let his age get in the way, though. Jones played in all 17 games. A knock on Jaguars receivers in 2021 was that they couldn’t get separation. Jones was no exception, but he was pretty reliable even when taking some serious hits. Jones didn’t have any fumbles on the season.
Defensive Player of the Year: Damien Wilson
The Jaguars added Wilson to the team in April 2021 during free agency. The 27-year-old inside linebacker played the previous two seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. Wilson’s presence on the roster served to push Joe Schobert, who the Jags traded for picks before the season started.
Wilson is a hard-hitting thumper for the defense. He played in all 17 games and had 106 total tackles, 59 solo tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, five passes defended, one forced fumble, and one interception. Wilson is one of only two Jags defenders to start all 17 games for the team.
Comeback Player of the Year: Josh Allen
Josh Allen is the Jacksonville Jaguars comeback player for 2021. His sophomore campaign in 2020 was full of injuries and he only played in eight games. He also only had 2.5 sacks and 13 total tackles in the 2020 season. Though Allen didn’t quite live up to his successful rookie season, he had a successful year on the whole.
Allen played in 16 games and finished with 7.5 sacks, 71 total tackles (46 solo), 12 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one interception. His most dominant game of the season came against the Buffalo Bills. Allen faced off against Josh Allen of the Bills and got an interception, a sack, and a fumble recovery that day. Allen has some work to do in the future. He needs to improve if he wants to live up to his draft status, but he had a solid year.
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Walker Little
This was a tough selection. Lawrence had a rough rookie year. While the young quarterback could have a great career ahead of him, he had a bad rookie season. There wasn’t much offensive production for any of the rookies. Walker Little played well in the limited amount of snaps he got.
A second-round offensive tackle, Little stands tall at 6’7″ and 325 lbs. He played in nine games and started in three. Little was not penalized while on the field. He played in 225 offensive snaps, which was good for 40% of the team’s snaps on offense. Little should see a larger role on the team eventually, and may even be a starter next season.
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Andre Cisco
Andre Cisco is the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive rookie of the year. Just like the offensive rookies, the defensive rookies did not get many opportunities to make an impact in 2021. However, the third-round safety showed promise when he was on the field. Cisco was especially impressive at the end of the season.
Cisco dressed for all 17 games but started in just three. Luckily enough for him, he started in the last three contests of the season. Cisco recorded 26 total tackles, 19 solo tackles, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups on the season. Both pass breakups came in the final three weeks of the season and one of his forced fumbles was in the final game. Cisco played in just 22 percent of the team’s defensive snaps but also contributed on special teams, playing in 69 percent of those snaps. He should see an increased share of defensive snaps next season and will be a starter sooner rather than later.
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