Jacksonville Jaguars: A big opportunity for Dawuane Smoot

Will Dawuane Smoot have the best season of his career in a Jacksonville Jaguars uniform in 2020?

Dawuane Smoot could not have picked a better season to show he could be a big factor in the Jacksonville Jaguars pass rush of the future.

After two seasons of inconsistent football, the former third-round pick out of Illinois had six sacks. That might not seem like a lot, but given the lack of play and effort Smoot showed, seeing marked improvement and more time in the team’s defensive line rotation was a nice surprise for the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff.

And given changes to the defense this offseason and new faces replacing fan favorites on the field, this could be an even bigger season for the big man. He was used both outside on the edge last season and inside at defensive tackle when the Jaguars needed help stopping the run. Now that defensive coordinator Todd Wash will change his philosophy this year, adding components of a 3-4 look, Smoot could be used in different sub-packages.

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The thought of Smoot being one of the Jacksonville Jaguars underrated players this season wasn’t even a discussion prior to training camp last season. There was even talk he might have been fighting for a roster spot given his lack of effort in 2018 and 2019. But as the coaching staff put him through the trenches and pushed him to play better and work harder, you could see the reps and the routine pay off. His six sacks were as under the radar performance as there was on the defense.

He should vie for more playing time in 2020 even though the team signed Cassius Marsh and Aaron Lynch in free agency to play with their hand on the ground and standing up from the linebacker position.

What could also be a benefit for Smoot this offseason and into 2020 is that no one is talking about him. In many instances, discussing how a player is “rising” on the depth chart draws attention, makes other teams aware of progress. Allows teams to scheme for them. Not in this case.  I’m sure Smoot will be a topic of conversation of the coaching staff and local media, but nationally, he is still virtually unknown. The Jacksonville Jaguars may have unearthed a hidden gem.

Without Calais Campbell on the field to corral the defense and lead by example, it also presents another opportunity for Smoot to show he is more than just a body in the rotation. It could mean he take another step toward being a dominant pass rusher on a defense that is trying to reclaim its identity this coming season.