The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense has regressed big time since their run to the AFC Championship in 2017 and that’s due to a majority of the unit’s personnel no longer being on the team. However, one player who does remain from the 2017 group is linebacker Myles Jack, who is playing excellent football at the moment, per Pro Football Focus.
As of Week 8, Jack is currently the database’s highest-graded linebacker with an 88.6 figure. That’s a grade that places him above stars like Darius Leonard, K.J. Wright, and Blake Martinez despite missing a few games with an ankle injury.
Myles Jack is still the highest graded LB in the NFL#Jaguars https://t.co/THFNL8Z5ac
— PFF JAX Jaguars (@PFF_Jaguars) October 29, 2020
Jack was moved to weak-side linebacker this season after the team picked up Joe Schobert and it has been one of the rare wise decisions the staff has made this offseason. The move has basically allowed Jack to do what he does best and play in space, which allowed him to amass 11 tackles in each of the Jags’ first three games.
Unfortunately, Jack missed Week 5 (vs. Houston) and Week 7 (vs. the Los Angeles Chargers) with his injury and also was barely able to play Week 6 against the Detroit Lions. Coach Doug Marrone said it’s a possibility the team could get him back after the bye week against the Houston Texans, but will have more certainty after seeing him next week.
Hopefully, the young team captain will be back sooner rather than later. It’s already looking like it will be an uphill battle for the Jags to turn it around with teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and others coming up, but it will especially be a difficult run without Jack suiting up.