Jacksonville Jaguars host defensive tackle Dontari Poe

With the rush of free agency almost over, the Jacksonville Jaguars are still trying to beef up their defensive line by courting Dontari Poe.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are shaking up their defensive front this offseason, with two moves over the last week already changing two of the starting spots. Calais Campbell should be a mainstay on multiple positions along the defensive line, while the departure of Roy Miller means the Jaguars will likely be using more diverse alignments on their defensive front.

The Jaguars aren’t done yet however, as  they hosted another big name free agent defender over the weekend.

Poe visited with the Indianapolis Colts as well, but he left without a contract and flew over to Jacksonville.

The team’s interest in Poe makes a ton of sense when you factor in the recent move to let Roy Miller go. While Miller was a solid player and can probably still contribute, he’s coming off a serious injury and doesn’t provide much of anything as a pass rusher in the interior.

Poe on the other hand is coming off a “bad” year relative to his usual high-level of play, so there’s a good chance he’s going to be looking for a one-year “prove-it” deal to try and rehabilitate his value. The Jaguars need another nose to go along with Abry Jones, and a rotation of Poe with Jones would make for a heck of a run-stuffing duo.

All that said, this isn’t a low-risk move for the Jaguars. Poe has been excellent for most of his career, making 2 Pro Bowls and consistently providing as a pass rusher over his best two years (10.5 sacks combined in 2013/2014). Poe’s last two seasons haven’t been as effective however, especially in 2016 when he notched a career-low 27 tackles and just 1.5 sacks. The Chiefs are letting Poe walk without any objection essentially, which is usually a sign that the team doesn’t value the player too highly.

Still, if the Jaguars can get Poe on a short deal, this is a smart move.