Jaguars defenders named to PFF Top 50 players of 2019

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive stars, Calais Campbell and Jalen Ramsey, were named to Pro Football Focus’ Top 50 players of 2019.

The preseason accolades continue to come to Jacksonville. Two Jaguars defensive stars, Calais Campbell and Jalen Ramsey, have been named to Pro Football Focus’ Top 50 players for 2019. Campbell, the stalwart of the defensive line, was ranked 26th by their panel of experts. Ramsey, considered by most to be one of the top cornerbacks in the league, was ranked 15th.

The Jaguars defense finished fifth overall in the NFL last season but tailed off from what was arguably one of the greatest seasons by a defensive unit in league history in 2017. As players and coaches have preached this offseason, the goal is to refocus and play with the same intensity that brought the Jaguars within 10 minutes of playing in Super Bowl 52.

"Per the story, “The PFF50 is a product of evaluating every player on every play of each NFL season to produce PFF’s unrivaled database of stats, grades and information. This list is not about how valuable players are, but about how good they are, regardless of position.“We started from the standpoint of a multi-year look at their grading before making adjustments based on situation, injuries where relevant, and new circumstances that could change a player’s future outlook.”"

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Coming into his third season with the Jaguars after playing in Arizona since being drafted in the second round out of Miami in 2008, Campbell told the media during OTAs he is just as focused on winning and improving as a player as he was when he first came into the league. He also believes the Jaguars have a chance to return to the glory they experienced two seasons ago.

Of his performance on the field, the staff at PFF had this to say.

"“Campbell has earned an 85.0-plus run-defense grade in each of the past five seasons, all while playing at least 300 run-defense snaps every year. Most recently, he turned in a career-high 93.8 run-defense grade with Jacksonville in 2018, which was good for league-best among qualifying edge defenders.“Though Campbell’s pass-rush grades have fallen off since his career-best 89.2 pass-rush grade in 2016, he’s still proved more than capable of terrorizing quarterbacks in his own right. He’s still kept his pass-rush grade above 70.0 in each of the past three seasons, and he’s recorded at least 50 total pressures in five of the last six campaigns.”"

Ramsey, the sometimes brash and controversial player, is Jacksonville’s biggest star and one of the best defensive players in the NFL, period. Last season, the cornerback continued to show he could play at a high level despite the fact the Jaguars secondary was not the lockdown unit it was in 2017.

The Jaguars secondary will look different this season without 2018 Week 1 starters Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson.

"“Ramsey’s three-year coverage grade (90.9) ranks fourth among the 53 NFL cornerbacks with at least 1,200 coverage snaps played since 2016, allowing receptions on just 164-of-305 targets for 2,207 yards and eight touchdowns in the process. He ranks fifth on the list in completion percentage allowed (53.8%) and eighth in passer rating allowed (72.1), as well,” the story reads."

Ramsey met with the media on the first day of mandatory minicamp and told the media in attendance he is ready for the 2019 season to begin, but he will not be receiving a contract extension from the team this year.

The Jaguars announced prior to the NFL Draft the organization would pick up Ramsey’s fifth-year option in 2020 that will pay him $13.7 million.