Myles Jack a sleeper defensive rookie of the year candidate if he can find role

Even though he hasn’t cracked the starting lineup yet, it’s easy to see how Myles Jack could make a huge impact on the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to incorporate a multitude of new faces along the defensive side of the ball and are hoping that influx of talent will help improve what was a horrific defense in 2015. One of the most high-profile additions is a guy who might not even start – second round pick Myles Jack.

After falling entirely too far in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Jaguars were praised for snagging one of the 5 best players in the draft class so late after he was tagged as an injury risk. Jack has been healthy and effective so far in the offseason, but he hasn’t quite found a role as a starter yet. With Telvin Smith manning the spot most appropriate for him, Jack has been taking reps with the second team at middle linebacker.

While he’s technically a backup now, it’s going to be hard for Jaguar coaches to keep him and his excellent coverage ability of the off the field.

Adam Schein over at NFL.com thinks Jack is the sleeper candidate to win rookie of the year.

"Sleeper Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate: Myles Jack, MLB, Jacksonville JaguarsThe Jaguars stole Jack in the second round, thanks to a knee issue that plummeted his draft stock. Thus far, as Jaguars fans continue to knock on wood, Jack is healthy and has been running with the first-team defense at times. In last week’s preseason opener vs. the Jets, Jack looked like the versatile defensive weapon who had NFL types salivating before his meniscus tear at UCLA last September. One of the highlights of the game occurred when Jack lined up across slot receiver Jalin Marshall on third down. Marshall ran a route across the middle, Geno Smith delivered an accurate pass … and Jack walloped the wideout to force an incompletion. That’s the kind of play — by a 20-year-old who checks in at 6-foot-1 and 247 pounds — that has Jags fans thrilled about Jack’s potential.Talent and execution were never questions here. If Jack can indeed stay healthy, I expect him to dominate for the upstart Jags."

I think the questions about Jack staying healthy should die down after a few weeks in the regular season, and the question that should be more prominent is when will he take over full time. It’ll be interesting to see how the coaches handle what is a delicate situation considering the loyalty they have to longtime MLB Paul Posluszny, but it’ll be shocking if Jack isn’t taking the majority of the snaps by the end of the season.