JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a couple of seasons of inconsistent playing time, A.J. Bouye finally got his opportunity in 2016 and made the most of it. The former Houston Texan cornerback had his best season as a pro and was rewarded with a five-year, $67.5 million deal by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bouye was the biggest free agent cornerback on the market and the Jaguars have now teamed him with Jalen Ramsey who is headed into this second season.
Position: Cornerback
Recommended Videos
2016 Stats: 63 tackles (regular season), 3 INTs (2 in the playoffs)
2017 Projection: Having Bouye on one side and Ramsey on the other gives Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash a ton of options. Last season Ramsey was assigned the best receiver from the opposing team and now it will be a competition to see who gets that job. Or perhaps it will change from week to week. This is a luxury that every NFL team would love to have.
Key stat: According to Pro Football Focus Bouye finished 2016 as the second highest graded cornerback (90.7).
From the locker room:
Bouye on former Steeler cornerback Ike Taylor calling him and Ramsey the top cornerback tandem in the NFL:
“Just shows that we’re getting respect from former DBs, but we know what we’re up against. We can’t really focus on things like that. All we can do is focus on how we make plays to help our team. They have great tandems everywhere. It’s more than just our two corners, we have a d-line, our backers and our safeties too.”