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Jaguars 2015 Pro Bowl Candidates- DT Sen’Derrick Marks

By Justin Moore

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Next up in our Pro Bowl Candidate series is a player who was probably the closest to representing the Jaguars at the pro bowl last season, Defensive Tackle Sen’Derrick Marks. Marks was drafted out of Auburn in the 2nd round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans with expectations to make an significant impact on the defensive line. Unfortunately he was unable to hit his stride with the Titans, as he only registered three sacks and six tackles for a loss in his four seasons with the Titans.

However, Jaguars GM David Caldwell and Coach Gus Bradley saw the potential in Marks, signing him to a one year $1.5 million dollar deal in 2013. He took full advantage of his second opportunity, posting career highs in Sacks (four), forced fumbles (two), fumble recoveries (three), pass deflections (eight) and also four tackles for a loss. Marks impressed the Jaguars staff enough to earn a long term contract with the team as he signed a four year deal at the end of the 2013 season.

Since coming to the Jaguars, Marks has played with a chip on his shoulder and that remained evident last season. In 2014 he posted more career highs, finishing with 8.5 sacks, 44 tackles, and 15 tackles for a loss. These numbers put him up there with the elites at the defensive tackle position, in fact Marks was tied for the third most sacks out of all Defensive tackles in the NFL. Marks has even received some recognition for his hard work in the 2014 season,  he was named the 76th best player  in the popular NFL Top 100 rankings and he was recently named the 10th best defensive tackle in the NFL by Bleacher Report.

Marks was indeed selected as a Pro Bowl alternate last season but unfortunately his season ending ACL injury prevented him from having the chance to make an appearance in the Pro Bowl. This injury is the biggest question for Marks and it could make it difficult for him to continue to play at a high level. However, I believe Marks can put together another impressive season in Jacksonville. He has vastly improved in his 2 seasons with the Jaguars and the addition of new defensive tackle Jared Odrick should help take some of the attention off of Marks. Mark it down now (no pun intended), I fully believe Sen’Derrick Marks will make his first Pro Bowl appearance next season but until then time will tell if he will successfully bounce back from his ACL injury.

Next: Can Blake Bortles Make the Leap?

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