Jaguars staff roundtable and NFL Divisional Round picks

Our staff huddles up for our weekly roundtable and dishes picks for this week’s NFL Divisional Round matchups.

Welcome to Big Cat Country’s weekly roundtable, where our staff previews each Jacksonville Jaguars game (oop) and makes picks for each NFL game.

The Jags may be out of the playoffs, but that’s not stopping us from talking ball and making picks.

Check out DraftKings Sportsbook for updated odds for each Divisional Round matchup.

Do you think any Jaguars were snubbed as an All-Pro this season?

Dillon Appleman: No. I don’t think anybody was snubbed. Josh Allen had a great year, and I hope we pay him, but 12 of his 18 sacks were against non-playoff teams. If he were more impactful down the stretch when it mattered most then maybe I would fight for him more here, but I think they got it right.

Travis Holmes: Honestly, I don’t. I know I’m supposed to say yes and lean into the audience but I truly don’t believe any Jaguars players in 2023 deserved to make the list, based on what they put on film. I believe their peers (fellow coaches and players) felt the same. The Jaguars have a few really solid players, but none that truly played to their capacity to earn that game-changing, All-Pro designation. The closest Jaguar candidates were probably Josh Allen and Evan Engram, and I think both fell short in 2023.

Gus Logue: Nah. I think Josh Allen and Darious Williams had standout seasons, but I don’t see anyone on the All-Pro roster worth replacing at outside linebacker or cornerback. I bet Travis Etienne, who was playing like an All-Pro before the bye, gets the nod next season.

Henry Zimmer: I think it’s fair to say both Evan Engram and Josh Allen got snubbed. Engram again proved to be one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league, and almost reset the league record books for catches in one season. Allen set the franchise’s single-season sack record. In a loaded defensive field, maybe it’s more reasonable that Allen didn’t make the list. But what more could Engram do to get noticed? He had less than 60 fewer yards than George Kittle and was only 2 touchdowns shy of tying him.

Hand out one award for someone on the 2023 Jaguars.

Dillon: Travon Walker’s leap in Year 2 was one of the lone positive takeaways from the Jaguars’ 2023 season, so I will award him the Most Improved Player of 2023. Going from 3.5 sacks as a rookie to 10 the very next year is no small feat, and while he’s still far from a finished product, Walker quieted a lot of doubters this year.

Travis: Would it be petty of me to hand out Coach of the Year honors to Mike Caldwell, or is it too soon? Knowing the team had such a bad 5-6 game skid meant a change was coming without question, but I’m still shocked at how few corresponding offensive staff changes have been. Nevertheless, to your question – if I had to give an award to someone it’d be Josh Allen as the Jaguars Defensive Player of the Year as he was second in the league in sacks (17.5) and fifth in pressures (90), per PFF.

Gus: I’d give Assistant Coach of the Year to outside linebackers guru Bill Shuey. He was one of three defensive coaches retained when Mike Caldwell’s staff was let go, largely thanks to his work with Josh Allen (franchise record 17.5 sacks) and Travon Walker (career-high 10 sacks) in 2023. If Sixth Man of the Year had an NFL counterpart I’d give it to Antonio Johnson.

Henry: Rookie of the Year goes to Anton Harrison. You could even make the case for MVP. In a rookie class that largely underwhelmed, Harrison proved to be a staple along the offensive line and really held his own as the season progressed. Good on him for stepping up while injured at the start of the year. There may be question marks with the rest of this past draft’s rookies, but not Harrison.

Rank the NFL’s top 7 quarterbacks under 25 years old.

Dillon: Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, (tier gap) Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy, Jordan Love (tier gap), Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields.

Travis: C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, Brock Purdy, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Fields.

Gus: Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa.

Henry: Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Fields.

Average rankings: Herbert, Stroud, Lawrence, Love, Purdy, Tagovailoa, Fields

Here are our staff’s Tallysight picks for the full slate of games this week.

What are your Divisional Round predictions, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!