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Who Are the Jaguars' 3 Most Pleasant Surprises This Season?
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- Who Are the Jaguars' 3 Most Pleasant Surprises This Season?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The first six weeks of the season have been very successful for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars have entered their Week 7 bye with a 4-2 record and already have a two-game lead in the AFC South.
Jacksonville had a lot of doubters before the season began. After blowing past expectations on their way to a 13-4 record, a nine-win improvement from 2024, ESPN named the Jaguars one of its five teams most likely to decline this year and even predicted they would miss the playoffs.
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Plenty of others wondered whether Jacksonville's rapid ascension was a fluke.
It was not.
Trevor Lawrence continues to play at an MVP level. The defense is once again the best in the NFL against the run. Parker Washington has picked up right where he left off last season as one of the league's most productive and dynamic wide receivers.
None of that comes as a surprise.
However, Jacksonville also has several players who are exceeding expectations, and they are a major reason for the team's success.
Here are the Jaguars' three most pleasant surprises so far this season:
Jacksonville's Most Pleasant Surprises
1. Bhayshul Tuten, RB: Perhaps no Jaguar was the subject of more doubt and scrutiny heading into the season than Tuten. Many believed the second-year speedster wouldn't be able to effectively replace Travis Etienne as Jacksonville's top running back.
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Tuten has proven he is more than capable of leading the backfield. He has rushed for 388 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 13 receptions for 126 yards and two more receiving scores.
He has shown the ability to grind out tough yards and hasn't even broken off a run longer than 20 yards yet, showing his consistency. Tuten has forced 27 missed tackles, the fourth-most among RBs. His 3.62 average yards after contact ranks seventh and leads the league in runs hitting at least 15 MPH.
Tuten is the biggest reason why Jacksonville's rushing attack has been so successful this year, and his numbers would be even more impressive if he didn't have three touchdowns wiped out by penalties.
2. Travis Hunter, CB/WR: Expectations for Hunter this season were high.
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Really high.
He has still exceeded them.
Hunter is developing into one of the NFL's best cornerbacks and seems to be getting better each week. He has allowed a meager 58.8 passer rating when targeted, including an astounding 0.0 rating in man coverage.
Hunter has 22 total tackles and already has six PBUs. He has also snagged the first two interceptions of his career, both in the end zone.
Just in case anyone forgot how talented he is as a wide receiver, Hunter caught four passes for 59 yards and a touchdown in Week 6 against the Houston Texans , becoming the first player to catch a TD and record an interception in the same game since Brian Dawkins in 2002.
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The second-year phenom seems destined to earn his first Pro Bowl selection this season, especially if he starts to see an increased role on offense. Hunter is proving why he was considered such a special talent coming out of college and is justifying the high price Jacksonville paid to move up to draft him second overall last year.
It's hard to believe Hunter has only played 13 NFL games.
3. Ventrell Miller, LB: Another big question facing the Jaguars this season was how they were going to replace All-Pro linebacker Devin Lloyd.
Quite well, as it turns out.
Miller has stepped into Lloyd's starting role, and the defense hasn't skipped a beat. He has been everywhere on the field. Miller has 39 total tackles, three TFLs and PBUs, one sack, and one forced fumble.
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After six weeks, Miller is PFF's highest-graded linebacker by a wide margin . He has been a revelation and is already one of the best and most important players for Anthony Campanile's defense.
