Jaguars' 7th-Rounder Zach Durfee Could Be the Sleeper of Training Camp

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- If the Jacksonville Jaguars' staff proved anything thing last season, it is that they embrace sleepers.

The Jaguars did not hand out starting jobs or key roles to anyone last season, showing the flexibility over the course of the season to promote deserving players and the willingness to believe in young or unproven contributors.

So, who could check each of those boxes entering this year's training camp? Several names make sense, but there is one who has the potential to stand out above the rest: defensive end Zach Durfee.

zach durfe — Jaguars defensive end Zach Durfee (58) runs a drill during the Jaguars’ fourth OTA of the year, Monday June 1, 2026 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Durfee's Case

Durfee, a seventh-round selection in April, is joining a defensive end room that certainly has a lot of players ready to eat snaps. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are the stars of the defensive line, while second-year defensive ends (and former sleepers themselves) Danny Striggow and B.J. Green are expected to take steps forward.

But the Jaguars are also a team that proved last year with Striggow and Green that if you produce in practice and the preseason, you will get your chance sooner than later. And if there is any Jaguars draft pick who seems like they could set the preseason on fire, it is Durfee.

Durfee was a walk-on at Sioux Falls in 2022, recording 11 sacks and ranking third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the process. At Washington, he led the team with four sacks in 2025 and the pass-rush traits have become evident in the process. In a defensive end room without many proven contributors after the starters, Durfee could find real chances to make an impact as a pass-rusher over the course of training camp.

It is hard to truly judge defensive ends during the offseason program, but it was clear in OTAs and minicamp that Durfee has an athletic skill-set that makes him a bit of a change-up pass-rusher from the rest of the room.

“Really what we've seen out here, that's what we liked about him. He practices super hard. He plays hard all the time. I think Zach's a really good pass rusher, but he's stout at the point of attack so he can set a firm edge in the run game," Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said during the offseason program.

"And he's just a big guy that's really athletic. He's got some hybrid qualities in terms of being a defensive lineman that can do some linebacker jobs, so we're always looking for guys with position flexibility and versatility. And he was one of those guys that we thought had those qualities and when you watched him play, he just played hard as hell. So that's something I certainly haven't been surprised by, his effort in practice. That's what we expected.”

Snaps will have to be earned by Durfee and any other rookie on the roster considering the fact they are joining a 13-4 playoff squad. But with the Jaguars' key veterans not expected to play many preseason snaps, if any at all, then Durfee could have a platform to make the same plays this year that Striggow made against the Miami Dolphins last year.

Durfee has a lot of the traits that fit the bill of a late-round gem. Like most late-round picks, he will have to beat out some veterans and also make his mark somewhere on special teams, but Durfee has been a hard player to count out over the course of his football career. If he can bring the pass-rush traits to Jacksonville that he showed at the college level, he could be the most interesting sleeper to watch when camp kicks off in two weeks.

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