While a strong debate could still be made that the Jacksonville Jaguars should’ve gone with quarterback Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the player they took instead, Taven Bryan, made strides throughout last season. He especially came on strong late in the season when the Jags came to grips with the fact that he was more of an interior guy than a defensive end, which was a key part of him finishing 2018 with an above average grade of 71.1 via Pro Football Focus on the season.
Bryan’s grade is one that definitely should be encouraging for the Jags, who were looking to boost their defensive line rotation and find a successor to Calais Campbell or Malik Jackson. Often times he flashed his quickness which helped him to frequently penetrate the line of scrimmage, and now that he has a year under his belt, he’ll be physically stronger and wiser next season in addition to that.
Late in the season, NFL insider Ian Rapoport came out to reveal that Jackson wasn’t in the team’s long-term plans and would be departing from the Jags in 2019 because of his cap figure and a decrease in playing time. Needless to say, that’s likely due to Bryan making him more expendable, and clearly, an increased role at the three-technique position is expected for him if he’s not starting.
As for the other top graded rookies, linebackers Leon Jacobs (68.8) and Nick DeLuca (63.0), cornerback Quenton Meeks (68.3) and punter Logan Cooke (63.3) all came in just behind Bryan and nearly accumulated above average grades.
