Jaguars roster: Guard AJ Cann named Jags most underrated player

A.J. Cann was recently named the most underrated player on the Jaguars roster.

When you think of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who is the first player that comes to your mind? Quarterback Trevor Lawrence? Tight end Tim Tebow? How about linebacker Myles Jack? For those in the back that thought of guard A.J. Cann, this post may be for you.

Russell S. Baxter of FanSided recently jotted down a list of every NFL team’s most underrated player and Cann made the cut. Baxter prefaces his analysis by saying that ‘it’s been tough going’ for the Jaguars for several years. He notes that the team has a 64-144 record since 2008 and has made the postseason just once, that one season when they reached the AFC Championship and were one bad call away from playing in the Super Bowl.

Baxter describes Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne as ‘exciting new additions to the offense”. He goes on to say that it’s equally important to “keep them out of harm’s way” and points out that Cann has been a pillar on the offensive line over the past six seasons.

The 2015 third-round pick is currently one of the longest-tenured players on the Jaguars’ roster. He has missed just five games over his sixth-year career and has posted favorable Pro Football Focus grades. Last season, Cann earned a 73.8 pass-blocking grade, the 18th among all guards in the NFL. Thus, it wasn’t surprising to see Baxter name the most underrated player on the Jags’ roster right now.

There are several underrated players on the Jacksovnille Jaguars roster.

Cann isn’t the only underrated contributor in Jacksonville. Myles Jack or Brandon Linder could have made the cut but the truth is that most Jaguars players don’t get much recognition because the team as a whole hasn’t been good in a while. Sure, they should’ve gotten more primetime games in 2018 after reaching the AFC Championship the season before but other than that, the Jags haven’t won consistently enough to deserve the spotlight.

On the bright side, the organization realized they needed to change their approach and they’ve spent the offseason making changes in order to turn things around. Head coach Urban Meyer is trying to optimize the way things the team does things. Also, they have added several building blocks this offseason, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

When it comes to the the offensive line, the Jags decided to bring back all their starters from 2020. They believe that keeping the unit together will lead to more consistency and a better performance up front. Although there’s still plenty of work left to do on the edges, the interior of the offensive line is in good shape with Cann, Linder and left guard Andrew Norwell paving the way.

Cann won’t suddenly get mainstream recognition in 2021 — nor other players on the Jaguars roster for that matter — but he has an incentive to keep playing at a high level. He is set to become a free agent this upcoming season and he could cash in either in Jacksonville or somewhere else. Underrated or not, he is set to earn a nice payday.