Malik Jackson misses out on another Top 100 list
By Daniel Lago
Despite being perhaps the most coveted free agent this offseason, Malik Jackson isn’t receiving the praise he probably deserves from national media conglomerates.
The Jacksonville Jaguars went into free agency in 2016 with a clear list of targets and more than enough salary cap space to accommodate all of them. Their first target was the top ranked player available and they got him – former Denver Broncos defensive tackle Malik Jackson.
After a breakout season, Jackson capped off his terrific 2015 campaign with a dominant performance in the Super Bowl. He was arguably the best player on the field and nobody doubted he would command a high price in free agency.
Despite all the apparent praise, Jackson missed out on the ultimately meaningless NFL Top 100 list this summer. It isn’t a big deal considering how the list is actually constructed, but it’s still noteworthy.
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Jackson should have been on the NFL Network list, and now we can get upset about his absence on the ESPN #NFLRank list. John Clayton listed him as
a player that definitely should have been included
:
"3. Malik Jackson, DT, Jacksonville JaguarsJackson landed the fourth-best contract in unrestricted free agency, a six-year, $85.5 million deal with the Jags. He was a dominating force on a great Broncos defense last season, and he could be even better in the Jacksonville scheme as a 3-technique tackle. He might get five sacks as an end in a 3-4 defense, but he could get eight to 10 in a 4-3. Jackson should be somewhere between the 75th and 85th highest-rated player."
The Jaguars likely won’t be well represented on the ESPN list (Allen Robinson only made it to number 74) thanks to a well-entrenched negative skew towards the Jaguars on that particular media outlet, but it’s odd considering Jackson is coming from a different team where he made a huge impact during the postseason.
Jackson deserves to be on the list but it doesn’t matter now. Thankfully he’s been terrific in the preseason so far and looks the part as we head towards the regular season.