Is Jacksonville Jaguars’ Dante Fowler Jr. the next Von Miller?
By Luke Sims
Dante Fowler Jr. has received some favorable comparisons to Von Miller from new Jacksonville Jaguars teammate Malik Jackson.
Malik Jackson knows good football players. After four years with the Denver Broncos (four years in which he went to the Super Bowl twice, winning one) and their terrific defense, Jackson knows what a good football player looks like.
Von Miller, widely regarded as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, was on that Broncos team and he tore it up each and every game. Miller’s performance has been stellar, especially in big moments like the Super Bowl.
So, when Jackson says that young Dante Fowler Jr. is “Von-esque” in his play, it doesn’t come as a light compliment. That compliment carries weight.
Talking to MMQB, Jackson said:
"Dante has a lot of energy. He is a very cerebral player. To me, he is very Von-esque. I’ve seen some of that in Dante. I think he can definitely be the same player. Just a lot of potential, we’ve just got to go out there and work together to get these sacks."
While that’s certainly putting a lot of pressure on a player who hasn’t taken a single regular season snap and wasn’t particularly impressive in his first preseason game, it’s definitely a good sign for Jacksonville Jaguars fans who want to see Fowler become something special. There are few players more special than Miller at his position.
The pressure shouldn’t be anything new for Fowler, though. The Jags are pinning a lot of hopes on him emerging as a premiere pass rusher even though he hasn’t taken a snap yet. Chris Clemons and Andre Branch are gone now and it will all be about Fowler going forward.
That change on the defensive line will add more pressure to Fowler than a comparison to Miller. Fowler has been compared to some of the top rushers in the league even before he was drafted (Lance Zierlein compared him to Oakland Raiders stud Khalil Mack). If he can meet that pressure and excel essentially as a first-year pass rusher with a starting role, then he may live up to those comparisons.
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For now, us Jags fans will settle for a highly productive Dante Fowler Jr. If he gets anywhere near being like Von Miller that’s just an added bonus. Time will tell.