Jason McCourty says Maurice Jones-Drew was toughest player to tackle

Maurice Jones-Drew was not an easy guy to bring down during his NFL career and Jason McCourty found out the hard way in 2011.

In a Week 1 opener, the Tennessee Titans cornerback stepped up to the line of scrimmage to try to stop Jones-Drew. Instead he was bowled over by the Jacksonville Jaguars running back, sending both McCourty’s helmet and the helmet of Titans linebacker Akeem Ayers flying.

“Every time I see MJD, he always talks to me about this play,” McCourty said this week on an episode of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “He was so tough to tackle and bring down and he ran with a ton of power.

“He was so low to the ground and it’s like ‘Alright, I gotta go low,’ but that’s the strongest part of his body. So the following year I just started tackling him high and waiting for the calvary to get there.”

That game, a 16-14 win for the Jaguars, was the first during the best season of Jones-Drew’s career. He finished the year with an NFL-leading 1,606 rushing yards and earned First Team All-Pro honors, something only seven different Jaguars players have ever accomplished.

According to Pro Football Focus, 954 of Jones-Drew’s rushing yards that season came after contact and he forced 47 missed tackles that year.