Jacksonville made a lot of offseason changes to its roster, but it’d be hard to argue that any of them have panned out better than the addition of return specialist Jamal Agnew.
He had five return touchdowns in his four seasons with Detroit, and the Jags hoped he would bring an element of explosiveness to special teams that has been sorely lacking.
Mission accomplished.
In four games, Agnew already has two scores on the season from returns. The first came against Denver in Week 2 when he returned a kickoff 102-yards to paydirt, and the second came on a kick-six in Week 3 against the Cardinals. Agnew’s 109-yard return on that play ties for the longest play in NFL history.
He’s one of the few aspects of this team that could qualify as elite, and it’d be hard to argue that he hasn’t been the most valuable returner in football this year. Pro Football Focus is going to try to, though.
In its first-quarter All-Pro list, Agnew was snubbed from the First Team in favor of Washington’s DeAndre Carter. There have only been two kick return touchdowns in the NFL this season, and Carter and Agnew account for them.
But PFF must not be taking into account the kick-six, because otherwise, it’s hard to see how Carter would be the First-Teamer here while Agnew occupies the Second Team spot, considering the latter has one more touchdown on returns.
Jacksonville certainly hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence this season, but the return game has been one of the few areas that is an actual strength relative to the rest of the league. If Agnew continues on this path, he should notch his second career First-Team All-Pro recognition.