Are the Jaguars putting too much pressure on Dante Fowler Jr. ?

Dante Fowler Jr. has to step up in a big way as the Jacksonville Jaguars have not added another pass rusher to bolster a key part of their defense.

Entering last year’s draft the Jaguars had a glaring hole in the pass rush department, they relied too much on veteran players in the 2014 season. Chris Clemons was on his last leg from Seattle and the same goes for Red Bryant. Jacksonville has long awaited a premiere pass rusher and a great option presented itself in the 2015 draft.

As the days to the draft got closer, it became obvious that the Jaguars were going to select a pass rusher but the question was, who? Leonard Williams was considered by some as the most talented defensive player in the draft but the athleticism of Dante Fowler Jr. seemed to be unmatched. With the third pick in the 2015 draft, the Jaguars decided to forego Williams or Vic Beasley and select the player they had been watching all year long, Florida Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr..

The expectations were sky high for Fowler after the Jags selected him, but as all Jaguars fan know, his season ended an hour into his first practice when he tore his ACL. Since that point, the Jaguars haven’t added any defensive ends to help ease Fowler in. They were forced to rely on players like Andre Branch and Clemons last year but during free agency that was supposed to change. Adding Malik Jackson is fantastic because he fills another need and his play will open up pass rushing lanes for other players. However, adding another premiere pass rusher was essential because it would of took some of the pressure off Dante Fowler Jr..

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Jacksonville targeted their fair share of pass rushers including Olivier Vernon, Bruce Irvin and Robert Ayers but were unable to land any of them. I completely understand the philosophy of building through the draft but expecting Fowler Jr. and probably another rookie pass rusher to consistently apply pressure from the outside could be very problematic in terms of winning games this year.

The Jaguars are now into year four of the rebuilding process and the expectations to win now have arrived. The addition of Malik Jackson and hopefully a healthy Sen’Derrick Marks will definitely improve the Jaguars pass rush but I still worry the Jaguars may be relying too much on Dante Fowler Jr. in his first real season.