Josh Hines-Allen

Allen finished the 2022 regular season with 57 tackles (35 solo), seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 17 games, and he added 11 tackles and a sack in Jacksonville's two playoff contests. The 25-year-old posted 10.5 sacks during his rookie campaign in 2019 but has failed to reach double-digit sacks in the past three seasons, and he's now entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Jaguars, making this a pivotal campaign for him.

Allen struggled in 2020 with only 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks in eight games, but he bounced back last season and recorded 71 tackles and 7.5 sacks. The 24-year-old was often a focal point of offensive protection schemes, so his production didn't necessarily match his level of play. Jacksonville added defensive talent through both the draft and free agency, so Allen could be a bit more freed up while rushing the passer in 2022.

Although Allen's 2020 season was highly disappointing, it would be a mistake to judge him based on those stats. Rather than his 2.5-sack season last year, Allen is more accurately portrayed by his 2019 season, when he produced 10.5 sacks on just 646 snaps. Now heading into his age-24 season, Allen is the kind of pass-rushing talent who could finish among the league leaders in sacks multiple times before his career is over. With 4.63 speed on a 6-5, 262-pound frame, Allen has excellent athleticism to pair with his standout skill set.

It didn't take long in Allen's rookie season for the seventh overall pick to prove he's the real deal, and now expectations are up accordingly for his second season. After posting 44 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 646 snaps, the questions for Allen now are A) how many snaps he might earn in 2020 and B) whether he can make his per-snap production even better. As to A), fellow Jacksonville end Yannick Ngakoue tended to play 770 snaps per year, so there's reason to worry the Jaguars might cap Allen's reps somewhat. The number of linemen who play 900 or more snaps is small, and Allen doesn't appear to be among them. Still, if he maintains last year's per-snap production over 800 snaps, Allen would project to roughly 55 tackles and 13 sacks.