5 Veteran Pass-Rushers the Jaguars Could Sign Before the Draft

While the Jaguars have made edge rusher's a focus during the pre-draft process, there is still a thought process that adding a veteran could be the better immediate play.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't been shy about their desire to improve their pass-rush in 2023. The bigger question isn't if they will address it, but instead how they will do so. 

The Jaguars will have their options in the 2023 NFL Draft, but the closer April 27 comes, the less likely it looks like they will have a legitimate first-round player available at No. 24 who could step in at edge rusher. 

This would mean a Day 2 or Day 3 selection at the position, a scenario that wouldn't bode well for the Jaguars' ability to get after the quarterback in 2023. 

So in the event the Jaguars need insurance for the position and their draft possibilities, should they add a veteran? And if so, who? 

Well, here are five names who just may make sense.

Justin Houston

There might not be a better fit for the Jaguars than Justin Houston. And for once, the Jaguars make sense for a veteran potentially chasing a ring, too. Houston, 34, has averaged 8.25 sacks a season in the four years he has played as a 30-something. This included 10.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hits in 15 games last season. Houston finished with the 16th-best pass-rush win rate among all EDGE defenders with at least 75 pass rushes according to PFF, which is a better ranking than any Jaguar pass-rusher last year. 

The Jaguars have a chance to make some noise in the AFC this year, so Houston wouldn't be spending one of the final years of his career with a pretender. Instead, his leadership and still-effective pass-rush would help the Jaguars' young defense immensely. 

Markus Golden

A pass-rusher with ties to the Jaguars' staff via defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, Markus Golden would make sense as a cheap veteran stop-gap. He has never been a top pass-rusher, but he has always been a solid No. 2 who has the ability to generate high-volume sack seasons. While he may not get as much pressure as other players on this list, the Jaguars could actually use a player who just finds his way to sacks after they finished No. 26 in sacks last year.

Golden recorded just 2.5 sacks last year so there is little reason to think that he would change the complexion of the defense, but he would at least be an experienced veteran who could line up across from Josh Allen, allowing Travon Walker to slide inside and act more as a versatile chess-piece. 

Leonard Floyd

A player who the Jaguars legitimately considered in the 2016 NFL Draft, Leonard Floyd could be a potential solution to the Jaguars' sack problems. The last time a Jaguars player hit eight sacks in a season was in 2019 when both Yannick Ngakoue and Josh Allen hit the mark. Since then, Allen has averaged 5.66 sacks a season and the Jaguars haven't found a reliable tag-team partner who can produce sacks at a high clip. 

This is where Floyd would come in. The former Chicago Bear and Los Angeles Ram recorded just 18.5 sacks in his first four years in the NFL, but the last three years have seen him record 29 sacks, never recording fewer than nine in a season. Floyd would be a better pure fit as a stand-up linebacker in 3-4 looks than Walker, too, which would allow Walker to move inside.

Frank Clark

Oftentimes teams sign free agents after seeing first-hand what they can do on the field against their own team. And in the case of former Seahawks and Chiefs pass-rusher Frank Clark, the Jaguars got a good view of it during the AFC Divisonal Round when he recorded a sack and two tackles for loss to help disrupt the Jaguars' passing game.

Clark is a physical player who would help replace the pure energy and physicality that Arden Key brought to the Jaguars, though it is worth noting that he averaged 5.875 sacks a year with the Chiefs and only recorded more than six sacks once. He wouldn't be a savior to the pass-rush, but he could be a solid second or third fiddle. 

Dawuane Smoot

One of the Jaguars' most efficient pass-rushers from a season ago, there is a legitimate argument to make that Dawuane Smoot was the Jaguars' most consistent rusher until a Week 16 Achilies injury ended his season. Smoot has remained unsigned in free agency due to the injury, which could cause him to miss most of training camp like James Robinson did last year. 

If the Jaguars are confident that Smoot can get back on the field in 2023, though, then he makes too much sense not to include. He can rush inside and out, he has experience in the scheme, and he is a respected member of the locker room. Plus, Smoot's power- and technique-based game could age well even with the injury.