The Jacksonville Jaguars should have no shortage of motivation on defense this offseason after what was a brutal showing on the field in 2024, but star pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen may have found some anyway.
FOX Sports recently published an article ranking the top 10 players from the 2019 NFL Draft class, and Hines-Allen was listed among their list of “honorable mentions.”
As the No. 7 overall pick of that draft class, Hines-Allen took exception. He sounded off with this social media post on Thursday:
Not making the Top Ten from my draft class is wild to me. I’ve never been handed anything, always had to earn every inch and still get misunderstood. But that’s alright. Let’s keep proving people wrong, just like always.
Hines-Allen, 27, has rarely missed a game over the past four seasons and has already racked up 53 sacks in his NFL career. To be fair, this was just one site’s random opinion during the slowest period of the offseason calendar, and the 10 players who made the cut are good football players:
FOX Sports Player Rankings from 2019 NFL Draft Class
- EDGE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
- EDGE Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
- WR A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
- QB Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
- DT Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants
- DE Jeffrey Simmons, Tennessee Titans
- RB Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
- WR D.K. Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers
- WR Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
- OG Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons
There are some premiere players on that list, but guys like Hines-Allen, Montez Sweat and Brian Burns might have a legitimate case vs. guys like Metcalf, Jacobs and Linstrom. It’s a subjective argument that no one will ever 100% agree upon.
Does it hurt Hines-Allen’s standing in the league that he plays in small-market Jacksonville, and has starred for some mediocre defenses over the years? There’s definitely something to that. He’s got a pair of Pro Bowl nods to his credit, but has not yet been named All-Pro at one of the NFL’s most top-heavy positions. The only player on this top-10 list without at least one second-team All-Pro nod is Kyler Murray.
Hines-Allen shouldn’t be wasting his energy on a random FOX Sports list with no byline. The Jaguars have bigger fish to fry coming off one of the worst defensive showings in franchise history. Hines-Allen took a significant step back himself after his ridiculous 2023 season that saw him rack up 90 total pressures and 17.5 sacks.
Jacksonville’s star players will probably never get the respect they deserve. They’re better off doing their talking on the field. Returning to respectability in 2025 and at least staying in contention for the AFC South title would be a good place to start.
MORE: Ex-49ers star’s $43.5 million deal with Jaguars named among worst contracts in NFL
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