Unlike most expansion clubs, the Jacksonville Jaguars achieved early success. After their first season in 1995, the Jaguars made the playoffs four years in a row, including a pair of AFC Championship Game trips. Since then, the franchise has been less profitable. Jacksonville has made only four playoff appearances in the last 24 seasons, with an equal amount of postseason victories.
With Trevor Lawrence at the helm, fans believe the young quarterback can help turn this team around and restore them to greatness — and, in doing so, cement his place among the franchise’s finest. While the list of Jaguars legends is surprisingly short, these are the top ten Jacksonville Jaguars players of all time.
Top 10 Jacksonville Jaguars of All Time Honorable Mention:
Brad Meester, Tony Brackens, and Rasean Mathis
10) Keenan McCardell is a Jaguars player with one Pro Bowl appearance.
Keenan McCardell, the thunder to Jimmy Smith’s lightning, arrived in Jacksonville in 1996, birthing the best wide receiver combination in Jaguars history. In six seasons with the Jaguars, McCardell averaged more than 1,000 yards each year, surpassing that mark four times. While McCardell never surpassed Smith’s season total, he was a dependable second option for the Jaguars and a key member of the offensive unit that established the organization as a team to beat in the NFL.
9) Jalen Ramsey is a three-time Pro Bowler and a First Team All-Pro for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Tenure or Honors? That is the issue we have on this list. The Jaguars have no history of long-tenured players or franchise faces. Trevor Lawrence could reach that level, but he is still looking for consistency as he enters his fourth NFL season. Instead, the Jaguars have forgotten famous names with brief tenures or overlooked talents who lack the accolades to back up their impressive achievements.
Jalen Ramsey fits into the former category, having appeared in 51 career games with the Jaguars. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018, then traded late in 2019 while earning another Pro Bowl spot. The Jaguars cornerback was also named a First Team All-Pro in 2017.
8) Calais Campbell.
Jaguars accolades: three-time Pro Bowler, one-time First Team All-Pro.
Calais Campbell’s stint in Jacksonville was brief (three seasons). However, the free agent signing from the Arizona Cardinals proved to be one of the most significant signings in team history. In his debut season with the Jaguars, Campbell had a career-high 14.5 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, and three forced fumbles. Campbell finished second in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting, trailing only Los Angeles Rams defender Aaron Donald (despite having more sacks and quarterback hits).
The Jaguars advanced to the AFC Championship Game that season and came agonizingly close to upsetting the New England Patriots before collapsing late in the fourth quarter. Campbell earned the Pro Bowl Honors in all three seasons in Jacksonville, including the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2019.
6) Marcus Stroud was a three-time Pro Bowler and a Second Team All-Pro with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
5) John Henderson was a two-time Pro Bowler and Second Team All-Pro with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The top defensive tandems in Jaguars history spent six seasons together, so it only makes sense to put them on our list. Marcus Stroud stood 6-6 310 pounds but paled in comparison to John Henderson, who weighed 6-7 335 pounds. This defensive lineman tandem contributed to one of the NFL’s most formidable front fours While playing for the AFC South squad, the Jaguars ranked seventh in the league in total yards allowed and tenth in points allowed. Stroud and Henderson, who combined for five Pro Bowl appearances, were two terrible dudes who deserved to be recognized. While their career averages are identical, Henderson was significantly more productive in Jacksonville, giving Big John an advantage.
Jaguars honors: Three-time Pro Bowler.
Long before Trevor Lawrence, Blake Bortles, David Garrard, or even Byron Leftwich, the Jaguars were led by one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. Mark Brunell led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship game in his second season as a starter, kicking off a run of two AFC titles and three Pro Bowl selections in four seasons.
The lefty has set franchise records for throwing yards, touchdowns, touchdown-to-interception ratio, and wins. Trevor Lawrence may eventually reach those numbers, but for the time being, Mark Brunell is the finest quarterback in Jaguars history.
4) Honors for Maurice Jones-Drew with the Jaguars: Three-time Pro Bowler; one-time First Team All-Pro
While his heyday was fleeting, few NFL running backs could surpass Maurice Jones-Drew from 2009 to 2011. Jones-Drew surpassed 1,300 yards on the ground and 300 receiving yards in each of those seasons, leading the NFL with 1,606 rushing yards in 2011. MJD ranked second only to Chris Johnson in total rushing yards during this period, while leading the league in yards per game.
In 2011, the UCLA graduate was named an AP First-Team All-Pro, and he remains the Jaguars’ first offensive skill player to achieve this award. Few Jaguars have achieved the heights of Maurice Jones-Drew, but his lack of consistent, long-term success prevents him from cracking the top three.
3) Jimmy Smith, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time Second Team All-Pro with the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jimmy Smith, a second-round choice by the Dallas Cowboys in 1992, nearly lost his NFL career before it began. Smith was sidelined for the majority of his rookie year due to a broken fibula, and a severe episode of appendicitis forced him to miss the whole 1993 season. Smith went undrafted in 1994 before being invited to try out for the Jaguars’ expansion team ahead of the 1995 season.
Smith had a disappointing first season in Jacksonville, but broke out in 1996, totaling 1,244 receiving yards. It was the first of seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the Jackson State product, who has nine seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards. Despite missing three seasons,Jimmy Smith, who began his career in the NFL, is still ranked 26th all-time in receiving yards.
2) Fred Taylor: Jaguars awards include one Pro Bowl and one Second Team All-Pro.
Fred Taylor, who played with future Hall of Famers LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, and Marshall Faulk, among others, was never given the accolades he deserved. The long-time Jaguars running back ranks 17th all-time in rushing yards and has seven 1,000-yard seasons in his 13-year career, surpassing that mark in every year he played at least 14 games.
However, it took Taylor until his eleventh and last year in Jacksonville to receive his first Pro Bowl nomination. Taylor ran for 1,202 yards while splitting time with Maurice Jones-Drew, averaging 5.4 yards per carry (a career high). The veteran opened the way for Jones-Drew to receive three long-overdue Pro Bowl nods as the Jaguars’ running back. Fred Taylor’s selfless, underrated performances on the field place him toward the top of this list.
1) Tony Boselli
Jaguars honors: five-time Pro Bowler, three-time First Team All-Pro, and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
Tony Boselli stands out among the franchise’s many excellent players. The offensive tackle is the only Jaguars player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as the only representative from the organization to have been named First Team All-Pro numerous times Boselli helped lead Jacksonville to four straight postseason appearances, a feat the organization has not matched since, including AFC Championship Games in 1996 and 1999. During this period, the squad finished in the top ten in total yards every season and in the top eight in points three of the four years. With a berth in Canton, Tony Boselli is unquestionably the best player in Jaguars history.
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