Jaguars Standing Pat Means Confidence in Defensive Trenches

A new regime brings plenty of changes to any professional franchise, and with that usually comes wholesale changes.

Despite PFF recently ranking the Jaguars defensive line as the 29th-best in the league, it seems like incoming HC Liam Coen and DC Anthony Campanile think enough of the talent in the defensive trenches, in so much that they are willing to make hay with existing talent.

In a recent episode of the Jacksonville Jaguars Insider Podcast, On SI Beat Writer John Shipley is projecting the team to stick and stay with five returning members of the unit.

"Defensive line, interior defense line, we had them keeping five players, Eric Armstead, Devon, Hamilton, Maason Smith, Jordan Jefferson and Tyler Lacy," predicted Shipley. "You know, [it's a} pretty, pretty easy group to figure out. They didn't add anybody this offseason, other than a couple undrafted free agents. They have a mix of veterans and a mix of second and third-year players, to the point where I think it's an interesting enough room to where you have guys. So, I think you can kind of lean on the starters, and have guys you can lean on, hoping maybe they'll develop."

"[Second-year} Maason Smith will set the tone for the ceiling of that room. However, if Maason Smith can take his end of year flashes and turn it into sustainable, effective and efficient play for the Jaguars along the interior defensive line, he will completely redefine the value and makeup of that room. Now, that's a lot of pressure for a second-year guy, but he has the traits. They didn't add anybody else, so he's obviously important."

"We've talked about this really ad nauseum, but Arik Armstead being moved back inside, [after the team] saw him play a ton of inside during the course of the offseason program. That's not to say [that] I don't think he'll play any snaps on the edge. You'll probably see it in some formations now and then."

Shipley added, "He has the build and the length to set the edge, but I do think that he will rush much more from inside as compared to outside, which was not the case last season. But when he did rush from inside compared to outside, his numbers were just dramatically different. So still, in my opinion, [there's] a lot of talent with him and [it] still looks like he's in really good shape, and this time, he won't be coming off an injury or anything like that."

Sometimes a change of scenery is a good fix, but in this case with so many returning faces in Jacksonville's defensive trenches, it's the change of architects and landscapers that will spruce up the scenery.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss another breaking news story again on the DL room this year.

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