Who is the most underappreciated player on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2026 roster? NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice recently made that determination for all 32 teams.
When it came to the Jaguars, Filice selected safety Antonio Johnson, although he said that there was a “wealth of viable options” on the Jacksonville roster, including Cole Van Lanen, Parker Washington, Montaric Brown, and others.
As the 2025 season progressed, Johnson’s role expanded. He graded out well as a run defender by PFF’s metrics, held pass catchers to under 10 yards per reception this season, and came away with five interceptions and three pass breakups.
“The versatile defensive back tied for second in the NFL with five interceptions — a striking total, considering he didn’t start a game until November,” wrote Filice.
Johnson will step into a starting role this season with Andrew Wingard now in Arizona.
“He’s gotten so many reps now at doing what we’re doing, and I think he’s very comfortable but he’s also playing a lot of roles for us,” Anthony Campanile said last season of Johnson. “He’s playing nickel, he’s playing safety, he’s playing some dime, move him around a lot and I think he’s doing a lot of the things that he does well.”
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars’ defender named team’s ‘most underappreciated’ player
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
