JaguarsTalk: Pro Bowl or Bust - the Jaguars Defense

JaguarsTalk: Pro Bowl or Bust - the Defense. Get hungry ‘cause it’s time to feed

So we had a little fun picking the 2022 Jaguars offensive Pro Bowlers. We admittedly were a little aggressive with two of our picks, Agnew and Etienne. Being aggressive, however, is not a bad trait when used appropriately. I recently finished a book in which the author speaks about always being aggressive, Fearless even. So we provide no apologies for our offensive Pro Bowl picks. Let the season shakeout and the chips fall where they may. One thing is for sure, if Brandon Scherff doesn’t make the Pro-Bowl then that will be one huge disappointment to JaguarsTalk and the rest of the pride. Alas, it is time to move on to the engine of this year's Jacksonville team, our defense. We have been going back and forth racking our brains, taking names on and off of the office Pro Bowl white board. We truly believe that several of the Jags defensive players could earn the honor this year but, at the same time, the pendulum could easily swing in the other direction leaving our players just short of the elusive golden ticket. The more we research this topic the more excited we get about actually seeing this amazing on-paper team perform on the grid-iron. The wait is over. We proudly present to you the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars defensive Pro Bowl selections.

Folorunso Fatukasi, DaVon Hamilton, Roy Robertson-Harris, Arden Key, Dawuane Smoot, Jay Tufele - Will not receive invitations to the Pro Bowl. This was a little difficult for us here at JaguarsTalk headquarters. We feel that if this award were to be handed out per team then we would be awarding Robertson-Harris as a team all-pro. Fatukasi has a shot at a team award but that hangs on his ability to clog the line of scrimmage preventing Derrick Henry and Jonathon Taylor from squirting through. At 6’4” 318 lbs the Jags didn’t bring him aboard to chase down quarterbacks. The problem with awarding any of the defensive linemen with an invite to the Pro-Bowl is that we believe the rotation of these big men will hurt them individually. Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell will substitute often to keep the D-line fresh. This will help the Jags win games but hurt them when it comes to winning individual awards. If the Jags are winning, I don’t think they’ll mind.

Josh Allen - This is where things get interesting. Josh Allen was the seventh overall pick and set a franchise rookie record with 10.5 sacks in 2019. Since then Allen has been good. He hasn’t been awful and he hasn’t been great. He certainly hasn’t been worthy of a huge second contract though Jacksonville did pick up the fifth year option on Allen. While this 2022 season isn’t technically his contract ending year, it’s where he will make his stand to show he deserves the big bucks beyond the rookie agreement. Man, this one is tough for me. The Jaguars have put in place the necessary puzzle pieces for Allen to succeed in a very big way. They drafted Travon Walker, an immediate impact starter opposite Allen. They drafted Devin Lloyd, an immediate impact starter next to Allen, and they acquired Foye Oluokun to complete the starting four at the linebacker position. All of these men are dominant beasts. Two however are unproven in the NFL. Because the Jags now have the necessary pieces around him and because Josh Allen has taken this offseason to focus on what made him great his rookie year, we think that Josh Allen does, in fact, receive an invitation to the 2022 Pro Bowl. 

Devin Lloyd and Travon Walker - Will not be getting invited to this year's Pro Bowl. It’s a season too early for either of these rookies. They will be team stand-outs for sure. Their contribution this year will be to unleash Josh Allen, putting their Pro-Bowl dreams on the back shelf until 2023 and beyond. Make no mistake though, these boys will make noise and cause confusion among offenses. Lloyd especially will be a run stopping machine. You ever see that Arctic National Wildlife Refuge documentary called The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness? Me neither, but I can’t get away from the previews (I saw Minions: The Rise of Gru at the IMAX and they play that ANWR preview on loop). Anywho, during this preview, two huge musk ox beasts are running full bore at one another until they collide head first with unbelievable force. It is a game of chicken I foresee happening with Lloyd and opposing running backs (minus the illegal head to head collision hopefully). This year however is not their Pro Bowl year.

Foyesade Oluokun - And we come across yet another difficult decision. The man led the NFL in tackles last year with an outstanding 192 take downs. Foye has nothing but upside. He is only 215 lbs. (might be because he transitioned from DB to linebacker only a few years ago), but who cares, because, you know… the league leading tackling thing. He’s young and intelligent, the brains of the front seven. Mike Caldwell could certainly turn this guy into a Derrick Henry hunter. Bottom line is that Foye is poised to have a phenomenal year, but with all this talent at the linebacking position it begs the question: is there enough to go around to garner Pro Bowl consideration? With Foye, I say yes sir, he will receive an invitation to the 2022 Pro Bowl.

This leaves us with our group of DBs. Shaq Griffin should lead the way with Tyson Campbell expected to step up and produce in 2022. Darious WIlliams went from the Super Bowl champion LA Rams to the toilet bowl Jacksonville Jaguars. It would be an awfully depressing move were it not for the fact that Williams is from JAX and the Jaguars have added not only tremendous players but also a Super Bowl winning coaching staff. I doubt Williams sees this team in the same light that he did last season. I expect him to be a leader among the DBs, he has been there and done that. Jenkins and Cisco we expect will play up to expectations but none of the above will earn the coveted invite to this year's Pro Bowl. As we here at JaguarsTalk have stated before, this group of DBs is probably the weakest link on the team. I say that with a smirk on my face because we truly feel that the Jaguars are so greatly improved that “weakest” is a word that shouldn’t even apply.

Santoso, Mevis - Nope and nope. We don’t even know who our kicker is going to be yet. Though I will say that whomever wins the job will have many more chances this coming year to prove themselves worthy. There will be more extra point and field goal attempts which also means more kicking off. More opportunities to show off the leg strength and showcase the on-side kick ability.

Cooke - I like the guy, as he can punt and place kick, but not well enough to make the Pro Bowl.

I don’t want to forget long snapper Ross Matiscik, but the Pro Bowl selection committee will. 

So there you have it. A total of two defensive Pro Bowl selections for the Jacksonville Jaguars will occur this year. That gives the Jags five 2022 picks. Keeping in mind that the Etienne and Agnew picks are admittedly a stretch as they depend highly upon full recovery from some pretty serious injuries, we feel that 3-5 Pro Bowlers isn’t too shabby for a team that only won three games last year. Gun to my head I would say Jacksonville has a very serious shot at winning two golden tickets, Scherff and Allen or Foye. But since nobody is threatening my life, we think that all five players mentioned in the past two columns have a legitimate chance of Bowling in 2022. What do you knowledgeable readers think? Are we insane? We’ve been called worse. Let us know in the comment section below.