Maason Smith will be a defensive mainstay for Jaguars for years to come

There’s a star in the making on the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line.

For years, the Jags have struggled to bring much heat on opposing quarterbacks outside of a few individual standouts. This season is no exception, as Ryan Nielsen’s crew overall has struggled in that department.

However, there’s a bright spot on that side of the football: a 6-foot-5 defensive tackle weighing over 300 pounds is quickly developing into a force.

Who is Maason Smith?

Selected in the second round out of LSU, Maason Smith has started to become a terror for opposing offensive linemen.

In their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend, the 22-year-old set career NFL highs for pressures (four) and stops (three) while also registering a sack.

Smith was equally productive in the Week 17 win over the Tennessee Titans, registering two total tackles and one sack.

During the draft process, Smith earned comparisons to All-Pro defensive lineman Calais Campbell. He’s beginning to live up to those standards, putting quarterbacks under duress and becoming a strong run-stopper.

Smith's quick first step off the snap, plus lateral agility, have been particularly noticeable to a team that’s been overall dismal in the pass rush this season. After 15 regular season contests, Jacksonville has registered the third-fewest sacks in the NFL (28) while giving up more yards per game than anyone in the league heading into their matchup with the Tennessee Titans (390.9).

Repetition will help Maason Smith achieve perfection

An ankle injury was partly to blame for Smith being inactive for six games. However, he's progressively improved and put forth some strong showings.

The game against the Raiders was the rookie’s third consecutive start, while he’s featured in four straight contests for this team. He says all of those reps are why he’s beginning to find his form.

“For me, it’s just getting reps,” Smith said via the team's official website. “I feel like repetition makes perfection. So, just doing it a lot more times helps me out. Ultimately, it helped me out in my play.”

Smith adds that his growth this season has stemmed from a process that has enabled him to make a big leap forward around the midseason mark. “I was kind of winging it to a point, not necessarily getting in the facility as early as maybe I needed to or just going off of somebody else’s routine.”

Maason Smith’s influences

Smith came to the Jaguars with plenty of strong defensive tools, but he acknowledges how much the veterans on the roster have helped him in his development.

In particular, Josh Hines-Allen, Arik Armstead, and DaVon Hamilton are three players that he’s singled out as individuals who’ve influenced him greatly. He says he had to ask players who’ve done this at a high level and have professional experience for help to find a process that works for him. When he returned from the team’s London trip, Smith believed he started to implement a routine, which has significantly helped in his progression.

If Smith can get at least one sack in his team’s final two regular-season encounters, he’d equal Dante Fowler’s mark of four in his first NFL season, the sixth-highest among Jaguar rookies. He would also surpass his current teammate, Travon Walker, who had 3.5 in his rookie season.

Maason Smith gives the Jaguars something to look forward to

Smith’s progress should give the Jaguars fans plenty of hope that “Sacksonville” will return sooner rather than later.

Not only the Louisiana native becoming an elite run-stopper, with the potential of being a great pass-rusher, but he’s got teammates who should make the Jags a much stronger team on the line of scrimmage very soon.

Josh Hines-Allen has eight sacks this season after 16 games, while Travon Walker is 0.5 sacks away from matching his career high of 10 from 2023.

You put those two together with a healthy Arik Armstead and Smith, and there’s no telling how dangerous this team could be on the D-line in 2025.