Two Jaguars players who deserve to make the Pro Bowl

This year has not been kind to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Riding a 10 game losing streak to a 1-10 record and having just fired General Manager Dave Caldwell show there have not been many positives this season for the Jaguars. And that’s just the last week. However, two shining lights have been great all season in rookie running back James Robinson and fifth-year linebacker Myles Jack, and they deserve to make the pro bowl.

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Let’s start with James Robinson

Everyone knows he’s undrafted, and it’s a great story that this kid out of Illinois State burst onto the scene and has been so good for an undrafted rookie. Go ahead and stop doing that. Just let that narrative go.

Robinson hasn’t been incredible for an undrafted rookie. He’s simply been incredible. Up to this point, Robinson has rushed for 890 rushing yards in 11 games. That ranks third in the NFL behind only Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry.

Stop the count!

Kidding, but you know what I mean. That alone should earn him a pro bowl ticket. But let’s continue. For his 890 yards, he carried the ball 194 times and scored six touchdowns, going for 4.6 yards per carry. The last time I checked, nearly five yards a carry is pretty damn good.

Not only has Robinson been great toting the rock, but he has also been solid in the passing game as well. He has hauled in 36 passes for 280 yards (7.8 yards per reception) and two more touchdowns. He has proven to be a more than capable pass-catcher that provides his quarterbacks with a get-out-of-jail-free card when they are in trouble.

Robinson has also joined some elite company. His 1,170 scrimmage yards puts him in a category with only Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew as the only Jaguars to ever gain at least 1,000 scrimmage yards and score at least eight touchdowns in the first 12 weeks of a single season.

And finally, this is not something you can quantify or reference, but it’s happening. This inept situation at quarterback this season makes what Robinson has done that much harder. Teams now know the Jaguar’s offense goes through Robinson and the ground game. That means more loaded boxes and more run blitzes. He’s basically running uphill.

Robinson is also set to shatter the all-time undrafted rookie scrimmage yardage record of 1,328 set by Dominic Rhodes in 2001 for what it’s worth.

To put it simply, he’s been pretty damn good and deserves to be in the pro bowl.

Myles Jack, THE Jacksonville Jaguar

Myles Jack is slightly tougher to quantify unlike Robinson, but he has been the best player on this team this season. His 74 tackles, five for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, and three pass deflections speak for themselves.

They don’t tell the full story for Jack though. His best quality may be his pass coverage. He has transformed into one of the best coverage linebackers in the league. And the NFL is all about matchups. That’s how you win. Everyone has players so the question is what can my players do well my opponents’ players can’t and how can we take advantage of it?

Typically, one of those favorable matchups is a running back or slot receiver on a linebacker. Well, Jack has proven to not be one of the linebackers you can take advantage of in those situations. You want to run a wheel route down the sideline? Jack can keep up with your back.

You want to swing a ball out to get your guy in space quickly? Jack can chase him down. His lateral quickness is great. And when you run at him he’s more than willing to pop you. Is he the strongest and biggest thumper? Absolutely not. Is he the fastest at his position? Probably not.

But what he is is probably the most versatile and athletic linebacker in the league. Obviously, the switch to outside linebacker helped him greatly. He is finally able to utilize his speed and athleticism in open space where he’s best.

Jack’s production has admittedly dipped since the first month of the season when he had 11 tackles a game through the first three weeks, most likely due to an ankle injury that sidelined him for a bit. However, he led the team in tackles against the Browns this past week with nine and has continually made plays week in and week out.

He may have more of an outside chance at making the pro bowl this season, but he is more than deserving and has put together a fantastic season.