Jaguars take heat in D-Line ranking for poor 2024 outing (but there's hope)

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a pair of dominant edge rushers in Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. However, they were routinely pushed around at the line of scrimmage last year because their interior defensive line was underwhelming. Not surprisingly, the Jags popped up near the cellar of a recent D-Line ranking. The good news is that there's reason for optimism ahead of the 2025 season.

Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 defensive lines in the NFL and placed Jacksonville at No. 29, noting that Hines-Allen is a stud but the rest of the unit leaves much to be desired.

"The Jaguars' defense ranked 25th in pressure rate on plays without blitzing (29.6%) in 2024, and the situation looks similarly bleak for 2025," Buday wrote. "Josh Hines-Allen, who ranked between 10th and 18th among edge defenders in PFF overall grade in each of the last four seasons, remains one of the better players at his position. However, the Jaguars need former first overall pick Travon Walker to take a step forward in his fourth season. For now, Jacksonville has arguably the NFL's worst interior defensive line."

Former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen asked Walker and Hines-Allen to put on unnecessary weight, which in turn robbed them of their explosiveness. To make matters worse, they signed defensive tackle Arik Armstead in free agency, but they made the puzzling decision to have him line up on the edge instead of inside, where he's at his best.

When you add it all up, it's not surprising to see the Jaguars get such a low spot in a D-Line rankings. Having said that, things are not nearly as bad as Buday suggests ahead of the 2025 season.

Maason Smith and Travon Walker will wreck havoc for the Jaguars in 2025

Even though the Jacksonville Jaguars got minimal production from their defensive line last year, they didn't make any major changes and instead focused on adding depth. This is understandable when you consider that they have a pretty good core. It's just that the group as a whole underachieved in 2024.

The Jags drafted Maason Smith in the second round last year. Although he got off to an unremarkable start to his rookie campaign, he finished strong, tallying two sacks and 11 total pressures in the last six games. The former LSU Tiger has gotten glowing reviews ahead of 2025 and is expected to take a massive leap in Year 2.

On the other hand, Arik Armstead will switch back to defensive tackle. Not long ago, he confided that he wanted to line up inside last year, but because the Jaguars didn't have a pass rush rotation, he stayed on the edge. That should no longer be an issue after the addition of Dennis Gardeck, Dawuane Smoot, and Emmanuel Ogbah in the offseason.

Even if Armstead isn't his dominant self, having him play inside will give the front four a boost. It's also worth noting that Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are back at their natural weight, and both should be more successful with Armstead and Smith inside.

It's also worth noting that Ryan Nielsen, who rubbed players the wrong way with his attitude, is gone, and Anthony Campanile is now calling the shots on defense. So far, his arrival has been a breath of fresh air, with veterans heaping praise on him.

Circling back to PFF's ranking, there's no doubt that the Jacksonville defensive line was a weakness last year, but the Jaguars took the necessary steps to fix that. If things go as planned, don't be surprised if the group experiences a massive surge in 2025.

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