Dante Fowler Jr. futile in efforts to build his own hype, says he’ll break out
By Luke Sims
Dante Fowler Jr. is not a bust for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he also hasn’t proven he can trend upward yet either. His self-built hype isn’t helping matters on a team that is devoted to hard work and putting the nose to the grindstone.
While linebacker Telvin Smith is demanding that his peers play better and head coach Doug Marrone is openly saying the team is bad until it isn’t, Dante Fowler Jr. is busy telling the world that he will break out in his third season for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As noted by the above-linked article by Jeremy Bergman, this self-built hype is coming off a season where Fowler said he would ‘turn it loose’ and didn’t manage to do so. In fact, Fowler was outplayed by 2016 third-round rookie Yannick Ngakoue, who led the team in sacks and looked far more disruptive than Fowler.
All of this isn’t to say that Fowler is a bad player. He had a strong finish to 2016 that could build some momentum for next season and he has been stout against the run. The Jags didn’t bring him in to be a stout run defender, though.
The Jags brought Fowler in to be a premier pass rusher and instantly become a consistent edge threat for the team.
And it’s because of an injury setback that caused him to miss all of 2015 and a lack of proven development in 2016 that makes fans and observers wary of Fowler and his ability to break out. As Bergman writes:
"We’ve been burned by premature Jaguars hype two years running now, so it’s safer to tread lightly than anoint the team in May as the AFC’s dark horse. The same goes for Fowler and the defense."
Hays Carlyon of Gridiron Now cites the growth of many players like J.J. Watt and Vic Beasley which could be indications that Fowler can step up in his second season on the field. Those are apt comparisons and, hopefully, will be Fowler’s peers going forward.
But it is equally important to note that both Watt and Beasley are outside the norm. Watt is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL since Lawrence Taylor with two seasons as the NFL sack leader and three defensive player of the year awards and Beasley led the NFL in sacks in 2016 with 15.5.
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All of those accomplishments are things that any NFL player hopes to aspire to and seldom do. Even first round picks like Fowler have a tough chance of ever leading the NFL in sacks or becoming a defensive player of the year.
That isn’t to say that it won’t happen, but it is worth keeping in mind. As Fowler works to develop some hype around himself, keep an eye on him to see if he is making any of the progressions that could lead to the kind of play that Watt and Beasley have managed to embody early in their careers.
Because if not, we may be having a different kind of conversation about Fowler after 2017. We’ve been fooled before and won’t be fooled again. This time, let’s wait to see what Fowler does on the field before buying the hype.