3. Jarrod Wilson – Jacksonville Jaguars safety
Here’s another member of the Jaguars secondary. Jarrod Wilson has had an inspiring journey in the NFL. An undrafted free agent in 2016, the Michigan product was mostly relegated to special teams over his first two seasons in the league. He worked his way up the depth chart and saw more playing time on defense in 2018. That year, he made two starts, logged a forced fumble, and two passes defensed.
The team’s brass recognized they had a grinder in Wilson and gave him a three-year contract worth $9 million in 2019’s offseason. The Jags’ trust paid off as the former Wolverine went on to start all 16 games and post 79 total tackles, six tackles for a loss, one forced fumble, four passes defensed, and two interceptions.
Wilson held his own last season even though the Jaguars’ defense as a whole couldn’t stop opposing offenses from scoring and ranked 31st in points allowed. The team decided to address the issue and signed Rayshawn Jenkins and Rudy Ford this offseason. They also drafted Andre Cisco and may be a matter of time before one of the youngsters challenges Wilson for the starting job.
Nobody can question Wilson’s resolve. After all, he beat the odds and became a starter in the NFL even though no team believed he was worth a draft pick back in 2016. Nevertheless, he might have already reached his ceiling. Cisco and sophomore Daniel Thomas are waiting in the wings. How long will Wilson be able to fend them off?