Countdown to Jaguars Football: No. 85 and Who Has Donned it Best
In fewer than 100 days, Jacksonville Jaguars will return ... at least as things stand today.
While there is still some uncertainty surrounding the start of the NFL season, the league office has made it clear that they are planning to kick the season off on Sept. 10 and then have every other team play on Sept. 13.
By going off that timeline, we are now just 85 days from watching the Jaguars take the field against the Indianapolis Colts for the first regular season game of 2020.
In an effort to countdown to the start of the season, we will now be going from 95 through 1 to determine the best players to don the teal, black, and white for the Jaguars at each specific number. Yesterday, we tabbed Dennis Northcutt as the best to wear No. 86 in Jacksonville, but what about the next number?
So when considering each player has worn the No. 85 since Jacksonville's first season in 1995, who has been the most impactful? Since the team's inception, here are the players who have worn the jersey number:
- Jaydon Mickens: 2017-18
- Nic Jacobs: 2014-15
- D.J. Williams: 2013
- Fendi Onobun: 2011
- Martin Rucker: 2011
- Ernest Wilford: 2009-10
- Richard Angulo: 2007-08
- Cortez Hankton: 2003-06
- Henry Douglas: 2002
- Kevin Lockett: 2002
While this list doesn't include any superstars or all-time Jaguars greats, there are a number of players included in the group who made solid contributions to the team on either offense or special teams.
Note: Ernest Wilford originally wore No. 19 with the Jaguars and wore No. 85 during his second tenure with the team. For the sake of this exercise, we will rank Wilford based on what he did during his second tenure.
No. 3 Ernest Wilford
If just counting Ernest Wilford's overall Jaguars career, he would easily be No. 1 on this list. But when just considering what he did as No. 85, he comes up a bit short even if he was still a valuable contributor to Jacksonville in his final two seasons with the team following one year with Miami.
In his two-year tenure as No. 85, Wilford split time between wide receiver and tight end, and his veteran presence, size and leadership were all key for an inexperienced wide receiver room. In his closing seasons with the Jaguars, Wilford appeared in 17 games and caught 12 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown, with his greatest impact coming off of the field.
No. 2: Cortez Hankton
Now wide receivers coach for the University of Georgia, Cortez Hankton was originally an undrafted free agent success story for the Jaguars at the beginning of the 21st century. While Hankton was mostly a reserve and special teams player for the Jaguars, he did play a big role in the closing moments of one of the 'Cardiac Cats' wins in 2004.
With just 00:45 remaining in an October home game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, Hankton found himself on the end of the most noteworthy touchdown of his career as he hauled in a 14-yard game-winning touchdown grab from Byron Leftwich. In 46 career games with Jacksonville, Hankton would end up recording 34 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 1: Jaydon Mickens
While Jaydon Mickens' time with the Jaguars was short, he was still an impact special teams contributor and reserve wide receiver in 2017, the Jaguars' best season of the 2010s decade. Currently a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an argument could be made for Mickens as the team's best recent punt or kicker returner.
In 16 games with Jacksonville, Mickens caught six passes for 77 yards but he turned two of those six receptions into touchdowns, making him a highly efficient red zone option. But where Mickens did his most damage was as a return man on the punt team, returning 39 punts for 346 yards and one touchdown in two seasons. While 2018 wasn't nearly as successful of an effort, his 2017 performance in which he recorded 10.6 yards per punt return is the third-best single-season return average recorded by a Jaguars player since 2010.
