Jacksonville Jaguars: Offense and defense show progress, Day 11 notes

Jacksonville Jaguars fans should be excited about DT DaVon Hamilton.

The Jaguars did a good job of solidifying their defensive front this offseason, which is something head coach Urban Meyer said the team was committed to doing. Besides trading for Malcom Brown, Jacksonville signed Roy Robertson-Harris and Jihad Ward in free agency. If that wasn’t enough, they also took Jay Tufele in Round 4 of 2021’s draft. Looking back, it looks like the Jags accomplished their goal of fortifying the line.

On the other hand, there are several returning players that will also have a key role on the Jaguars’ defense in 2021. One of them is second-year defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton. The Ohio State product showed promise in his rookie campaign and was even the Jaguars’ highest-graded defender in a couple of games in 2020. Unfortunately, a knee injury cut his season short.

Heading into training camp, it was unknown what kind of role Hamilton would have in defensive coordinator Joe Cullen’s scheme. He’s put all doubts to rest with a dominant training camp. The 2020 third-round pick has looked different, according to John Oehser of the team’s official website.

Oehser says the sophomore defensive tackle has been showing disruption during training camp. He goes on to quote assistant head coach Charlie Strong, who believes Hamilton is “doing a great job inside”.

"You watch tape and he just hustles to the ball and runs downfield after the football. He’s a young guy who’s really improving and he’s taking a big step."

The Jaguars had a hard time stopping opposing teams from running the ball at ease. That won’t longer be the case if Hamilton and Brown do a good job of clogging up running lanes in 2021.