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Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterDec 11, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
NASHVILLE — The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10) won’t be making the playoffs this season and they’re guaranteed to finish with a losing record for the 11th time in the past 14 seasons. However, there are some things left to accomplish in a disappointing season.
Defensive end Josh Hines-Allen and receiver Brian Thomas Jr. are chasing significant spots in the franchise’s record book: Hines-Allen is 3.5 sacks shy of the Jaguars’ all-time sack record, and Thomas needs 15 yards and 11 receptions to break the team’s rookie receiving records.
“With the way our season’s been, those are a couple bright spots to look at and really give those guys credit for what they’ve done,” coach Doug Pederson said.
Hines-Allen sacked Titans quarterback Will Levis on Sunday for his seventh of the season and the 52nd of his career. That leaves him three shy of Tony Brackens’ career record — who set the mark in 107 games over eight seasons (1996-2003).
Hines-Allen will be playing his 88th game in his sixth season Sunday against the New York Jets (1 p.m. ET, Fox) at EverBank Stadium.
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The Jaguars defensive end signed a five-year, $141.25 million contract ($88 million guaranteed) in the offseason after setting the franchise’s single-season sack record last season (17.5).
Though he’s not shying away from talking about nearing the career record, Hines-Allen is bothered by the Jaguars underachieving in a season that began with playoff expectations.
“I don’t want to be no dang loser, you know what I mean?” he said. “I want to go home and watch the tape and be happy about it, be excited, be encouraged. See great tape, celebrate a win that each individual guy has up front. I want to celebrate those.
“[Losing’s] just not a good feeling. I don’t like that feeling.”
There haven’t been many “good feelings” this season. But if he wants to end on a high note, all he has to do is follow his wife’s advice.
“My wife tells me all the time, ‘Hey, go get that record. All you need is four sacks. Just do four sacks,'” Hines-Allen said while laughing. “… I’ve never had four sacks. Don’t know what it feels like to do that in one game, but hopefully speak it to existence. But at the end of the day man, I just want to go out there and play for my guys, man.
“And break the record.”
Brian Thomas Jr. leads all rookie wide receivers in receiving yards after posting 86 on Sunday. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Thomas, the Jaguars’ No. 23 overall pick, was off to a slow start in last Sunday’s 10-6 victory over Tennessee, with no catches on three targets until he finally got his first catch with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter. He then got on a roll, finishing with eight catches for 86 yards on a team-high 12 targets.
This season, Thomas has 54 catches for 851 yards — which trails only Raiders tight end Brock Bowers among rookies. Justin Blackmon, the No. 5 overall pick in 2012, set the Jaguars’ record for most receptions (64) and receiving yards (865) by a rookie. Both of those marks could be reached by Thomas against the Jets.
Though he said it would be nice to set the record at home, Thomas is more concerned with continuing his development.
“Each step closer I get to [the rookie record] means a lot more to me,” Thomas said after the victory over the Titans. “I just want to come out here and focus on being the best that I can be. I don’t want to try to focus in on [the record]. I want to be the best that I can be.”
Thomas is on pace for 71 receptions for 1,113 yards, which would make him just the third receiver the Jaguars have drafted to surpass 1,000 yards. Allen Robinson, a 2014 second-round pick, had 1,400 yards in 2015, and DJ Chark Jr., a 2018 second-round pick, had 1,008 yards in 2019.
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The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Thomas is similar in size to Robinson (6-2, 210) and Chark (6-3, 200), but he’s different in one major way: his speed. He ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine and still has the second-fastest time of any player in the NFL this season, reaching 22.15 miles per hour on his 85-yard catch-and-run against Indianapolis in Week 5.
“Definitely one of the most polished rookies I’ve ever been around,” tight end Evan Engram said. “Very locked in, focused, very, very mature to be a rookie in this league, especially at receiver, definitely sky’s the limit for him. He’s a playmaker for us.
“I like to say polished for a rookie is the perfect word. We’ve seen how explosive he can be. The future is bright for him. He’s rolling right now. We got to continue to keep getting him the ball.”
