Calais Campbell says Jaguars have 6 or 7 DPOY candidates
The emergence of the Jacksonville Jaguars' fearsome defense, nicknamed "Sacksonville" for its dominant pass-rush, was one of the major surprises of the 2017 NFL season.
Few doubted the Jaguars' talent on that side of the ball, especially after adding Pro Bowlers Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye in free agency. But in recent seasons Jacksonville has too often been less than the sum of its impressive parts.
However, after finishing 2017 with the league's second-ranked defense (allowing only 286.1 yards per game), and with the nucleus of the unit intact, Campbell believes the sky is the limit.
"We don't have a weak spot," Campbell told Sky Sports' James Simpson. "We're very smart on every level, we're very talented at every level. From our safeties, our cornerbacks to our linebackers and our D-line - everybody has ridiculous speed, everybody's very tough and plays with a physical nature. We want to strike fear into teams.
"I really think we have six or seven guys who could be defensive player of the year on this defense."
Campbell was in the conversation for the award last season thanks to a 14.5-sack performance. Jalen Ramsey was considered as well after emerging as a premier shutdown corner. He was ranked second among cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus and given a coverage grade of 91.8.
Beyond Campbell and Ramsey, the likes of Bouye, pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, and linebackers Telvin Smith and Myles Jack are among the most productive players at their respective positions.
All of the Jags' top veterans will need to have career years for the defense to reach Campbell's ultimate goal.
"You go back to the '85 Bears, the 70s with the Vikings, the Oakland Raiders, some of those really good teams that the Steelers had, the 2013 Seahawks, the Broncos in 2015," said Campbell.
"Those are some really good defenses that have done incredible things and I really hope that this season we have coming up can compare to those teams."
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