PFF Ranks Both Jaguars' Starting Offensive Guards Among NFL's 32 Best

Do the Jacksonville Jaguars have two of the NFL's best 32 guards in the entire league? Pro Football Focus has made the case that Andrew Norwell and A.J. Cann are deserving of that recognition.

There are few units in football assigned more blame than the offensive line, which makes it noteworthy each time a team seems to hit on a mauling blocker up front -- and especially noteworthy when they hit more than once.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars have not exactly been known for stellar offensive line play in recent years, the Jaguars are at least bringing an interior duo into 2021 that has its believers. Following left guard Andrew Norwell having his best season as a Jaguar and right guard A.J. Cann having a career year in 2020, the Jaguars' guard duo has earned its fair share of fans.

Among those fans is Pro Football Focus, who recently released a list of the 32 best offensive guards entering the 2021 season. PFF included both Norwell and Cann on the list, making the Jaguars one of only nine teams with both starting guards on the list (joining the Colts, Cowboys, Browns, Buccaneers, Eagles, Titans, Steelers, and Jets).

Norwell came in at No. 13, finding himself ahead of other big-name guards such as Baltimore Ravens guard Kevin Zeitler and Steelers guard David DeCastro. 

"Norwell has consistently been one of the best pass-blocking guards in the league throughout his career, first in Carolina and then in Jacksonville," PFF said. "His run blocking has tailed off since moving to the Jaguars, but as a pass-protector, he allowed just 15 total pressures in 13 games this past season despite quarterback play that wasn’t always helpful to his endeavors."

This more or less sums it up with Norwell, at least last season. He struggled with penalties and pass-blocking consistency in his first two seasons with Jacksonville after signing a five-year, $66.5 million deal with the team in 2018's free agency cycle, but he picked up his game considerably in 2020. 

According to Pro Football Focus, last year was Norwell's best season as a pass blocker in Jacksonville. He No. 25 among guards in that area in 2019, but went all the way up to No. 8 in 2020. Sports Info Solutions had Norwell down for two penalties and 12 blown blocks in 13 games, finishing with better efficiency rates than the year before.

Norwell started 13 games at left guard last season and has started 40-of-48 games since signing with the Jaguars in 2018. He played 11 games in 2018 and 16 in 2019.

"He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. He’s a guy that was the underdog when we got there at Ohio State. The offensive line at Ohio State was one of the worst in the Big 10, it became the best in the Big 10. He was a big part of it," Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said earlier this offseason.

"I was not surprised to see him get a high free agency contract because he’s a grinder, he’s a worker, he’s a team guy, he’s a locker room guy. I see him being part of the Jaguars and I want him to be part of the Jaguars. For me personally, I love the guy because I know him better than most.”

As for Cann, he has been the iron man of Jacksonville's line, starting 77of-80 regular-season games over the last five years. He has yet to establish himself as a consistent player who can give you the same results year in and year out, but it is fair to say that there are plenty of NFL teams who would be happy with Cann in their lineup.

Cann had the lowest amount of "blown blocks" of his career via Sports Info Solutions, while Norwell cut down on his penalties, decreasing them from seven in 2019 to two in 2020.

Cann is also fresh off what could be his best season as the Jaguars' starting right guard, which is impressive considering both Jacksonville's 1-15 record and the complete breakdown that was the Jaguars' quarterback position in 2020.

"Cann has started the bulk of six seasons for Jacksonville, but his performances have been pretty inconsistent over that time, making ranking him a challenge," PFF wrote when ranking Cann at No. 28. 

"He is coming off one of his better seasons and now has the potential of getting help from both his quarterback and the offensive scheme in 2021. Cann allowed just two sacks and 21 total pressures in 2020."