Jacksonville Jaguars: Jalen Ramsey’s peers will be the league’s best

Jalen Ramsey has been stellar for the Jacksonville Jaguars in one season, but he can be among the NFL’s best at his position in year two.

Looking at Jalen Ramsey’s first season in the NFL, it’s easy to see that he is ready to be among the league’s best cornerbacks while playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He clearly outstripped his rookie peers in quarterback rating allowed (per Pro Football Focus) and he recorded the second-best single-game grade from PFF among all cornerbacks in 2016.

Those types of acknowledgments are seemingly commonplace already for the stud cornerback. Ramsey has been every bit as good as expected when the Jaguars took him fifth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

In 2017, it will be time to exceed those expectations. And with that growth will come the arrival of Jalen Ramsey in recognition as one of the league’s best cornerbacks.

While names like Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman cast a large shadow over the defensive secondary on every NFL team, the competition among those two as the league’s best is quickly coming to a close. Revis is past his prime and Sherman is clearly hitting some level of dissension with the Seattle Seahawks ‘Legion of Boom’ that he helped create.

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In an up and coming group of stars that already includes studs like Xavier Rhoades and A.J. Bouye (now also with the Jaguars), Ramsey can assume the prominent post of a NFL position leader. If the Jaguars are even remotely competitive in 2017, Ramsey could draw attention from across the nation, and not just north Florida.

While it’s the offseason now and OTA’s are nothing more than getting the team up to speed, anticipation is already mounting for Ramsey to cement himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. One season is not enough to hang his hat on, but it is a strong indication that he is doing everything right.

The next step is simply to do it all again.