Jaguars: Josh Allen should be NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

The Jaguars have one of the best rookies in the entire NFL playing on a defense that is better than last season.

Defensive end Josh Allen (the good one) is proving to be an excellent addition to the Jacksonville Jaguars defense and should be in consideration for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Drafted with the seventh pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Allen is proving to be a steal for the Jaguars compared to who was taken above him. Many considered Allen to be the best pass rusher in the entire draft class. The fact he “fell” to the Jaguars is still something analysts talk about today.

Through the first nine games of his career, Allen has 18 tackles, seven sacks, and two forced fumbles. Allen also has 31 quarterback pressures, 12 quarterback hurries and eight knockdowns.

Allen is greatly benefiting from having veteran pass rusher Calais Campbell by his side, along with Pro-Bowler Yannick Ngakoue. With two great examples to play next to, Allen is certainly stepping up and showing how excellent he is so early in his career.

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While Allen is having a great season, most of the national media attention is going toward another rookie pass rusher: Nick Bosa.

Bosa is also having a great season for the San Francisco 49ers, registering 20 tackles, seven sacks and one forced fumble. Allen has four more quarterback pressures and one more quarterback knockdown than Bosa.

With Jacksonville being in a small market, it will be hard for Allen to generate a lot of buzz compared to Bosa.

Allen is on pace for 12.5 sacks, which would crush Ngakoue’s current record of most sacks as a rookie (eight), and also close in on Campbell’s record of most sacks in a single season (14.5). Breaking or even tying Campbell for the single-season sack record would also tie or break the record for most sacks in a single season in NFL history held by Jevon Kerse.

In the last half of the team’s season, Jacksonville will face some vulnerable offensive lines, including Tennessee (42 sacks allowed, most in NFL), Tampa Bay (34 sacks allowed, fifth most in NFL), and Atlanta (22 sacks allowed, 17th in NFL). Allen will have a great opportunity to sack opposing quarterbacks and potentially vault himself into the Jaguars and NFL record books.

With playoff implications now a given every week, Jacksonville will need its rookie pass rusher to continue to have a high impact every time he takes the field.

Regardless of if Allen wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, the Jaguars know it has a great player that will be around for a long time.