Jaguars D-Line is much better than PFF suggests in power ranking

The Jacksonville Jaguars made several additions to the defense in the offseason. One of the biggest ones was defensive tackle Arik Armstead, who will join the pass rush tandem of Josh Allen and Travon Walker. But despite having plenty of talent and depth in the trenches, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus doesn't think the Jags' defensive line is among the best in the league. In fact, he believes they're one of the worst.

Monson ranked all 32 defensive lines in the NFL ahead of the 2024 season and placed the Jaguars at No. 26. While he concedes that having Armstead in the fold will have a positive effect, he doesn't think Jacksonville has enough talent in the defensive trenches.

"Jacksonville brought back Josh Allen, by far the team's best defensive lineman, this offseason. Allen has been the one high draft pick spent on the defensive line in recent years that has actually paid dividends, and he accounted for 90 quarterback pressures in 2023.

Travon Walker may have managed double-digit sacks, but he earned just a 58.1 PFF pass-rushing grade and was worse against the run.

Arik Armstead will add real production on the inside and may help in developing Walker, given his own rare physical traits."

As Monson noted, Walker didn't post an outstanding grade. However, he showed noticeable improvement toward the end of the season, registering five sacks in the last four games. His pass-rush win rate could certainly be better but he should keep making strides in Year 3.

Josh Allen, for his part, put it all together in 2023 While he had played at an elite level at times in previous seasons, he wasn't nearly as consistent as the Jaguars would've wanted. Entering a contract year, the former Kentucky Wildcat cemented his place as one of the top pass rushers in the league, setting a franchise record for sacks in a season with 17.5.

The Jaguars rewarded Allen by making him one of the highest-paid pass rushers in the league. No longer having to worry about getting paid, he should be able to build off of his success last season. And by adding Armstead to the mix, Walker will keep getting better and Allen will have another banner year.

Although Armstead has never made the Pro Bowl or earned an All-Pro designation, he's routinely been one of the best defensive tackles in the league. Despite the fact that he was dealing with injuries last year, he managed to be productive and even tallied a sack in the Super Bowl.

It's also worth noting Monson omits that the Jaguars have a pair of dependable defensive tackles in DaVon Hamilton and Roy Robertson-Harris. Simply put, the Jaguars have enough talent and depth to control the line of scrimmage next season.

The Jaguars deserve better than No. 26 in PFF's D-Line rankings

You can always argue whether a team is deserving or a spot in a power ranking. When it comes to defensive lines, you can make the case that the Jacksonville Jaguars should've ranked at least a couple of spots higher.

You could say that it's not much of a difference but the truth is that the Jags' defensive line is better than that of the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints, the two teams ahead of them. For starters, the Phins don't have much depth in the trenches and lost defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in free agency. On the other hand, the Saints don't have many playmakers beyond Cameron Jordan.

When you factor in that the Jaguars hired Ryan Nielsen as their defensive coordinator, it's reasonable to think they could earn a spot in the top 15 by the end of 2024. Granted, they need to play games first but the talent is there to make noise next season.

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