The Jaguars have gone 10-39 since edge rusher Josh Allen joined the team as a first-round pick in 2019 and the constant losing has taken a toll on him.
Allen said on Monday that he lost “bits and pieces” of the mentality and mindset needed to play at a high level at points. That was particularly true as the Urban Meyer experiment blew up in the team’s face last year and forced Allen “to re-assert myself and really find out what I’m about” as he heads into his fourth season.
One of the things that Allen has found is that part of what he’s about is mentoring younger teammates who may not have the same experience with hard times that he’s gained over the last few years. Allen said his message to his teammates is to lean on him in order to make sure everyone gets through difficult stretches without the team coming apart.
“I went through the worst . . . it can’t get worse that what we’ve been through,” Allen said, via Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union. “But I know how to get through adversity, so come talk to me.”
Allen said that former teammate Calais Campbell did the same for him early in his career and that helped him get into position to record 20.5 sacks over his first three seasons. Those have been some of the few bright spots for the Jaguars, who will be hoping that navigating the tough patches will bear a wider array of fruit under new coach Doug Pederson.