Jaguars D-Line has potential to create havoc in 2022

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been trying to be able to create havoc with the defensive front for quite some time now. They have had success when they’ve been able to do it.

When the Jags had players like Marcus Stroud and John Henderson plugging up the middle, it allowed for more creativity for other positions. This year, their front seven should be exciting to watch with the talent that the front office has stockpiled.

The Jaguars’ defensive front has the potential to be fearsome

The defensive front has been encouraging to watch through the Jaguars’ first two preseason games. Right away. opposing teams are realizing that rookie outside linebacker Travon Walker can blow up the play for the offense if he’s not accounted for. Pairing Walker with Josh Allen is going to be fun to watch.

Third-year defensive tackle Davon Hamilton has been putting in some work to be a bigger part of the rotation and could become a key cog against the pass. He showcased this ability in practice when lined up against center Luke Fortner. This was also evident against the Cleveland Brown’s game, when he bent offensive lineman Nick Harris backward on the game’s second play.

The defensive end position has shown some better play by players like Arden Key, Roy Robertson-Harris, Foley Fatukasi, Jay Tufele, and Adam Gotsis. These five round out the top players at the position. Key and Gotsis are scheduled to become free agents in 2023, so this could turn out to be a prove-it year for both of them.

Preseason results should be taken with a grain of salt

The preseason isn’t a great time to evaluate the Jaguars’ defensive front as the starting defense only gets to play a few series. However, it is encouraging to know that these guys are just starting to gel together. Just last Friday, the Jags limited the Browns’ offense to seven yards in the first quarter. The front seven is starting to click for the Jaguars and the opposition will be forced to take notice.

Having said that, we don’t want to get our hopes too high before the regular season starts only to see the Jags fail to live up to expectations. Too often, the Jaguars have underachieved, even when the bar wasn’t particularly high.

The Jaguars improved front seven should lead to more interceptions

The potential to create turnovers was an area of focus of the secondary this offseason. Pressure creates mistakes for opposing quarterbacks and the Jags’ secondary should greatly benefit from this.

Watching Travon Walker come down the line and cause a fumble against Cleveland was a great sight to see. Shaquill Griffin falling on the ball for recovery was something we haven’t seen much of watching the Jaguars play. The impact of giving the offense a short field often will be a welcomed change.

As a fan, it’s great to watch the Jaguars get a pick-six or scoop the fumble up and then return it for a touchdown. When this happens, the energy at TIAA Bank Field goes through the roof, so let’s hope the defense takes it to the house a few times in 2022.