Jaguars DT Jordan Jefferson Shines in the Shadows

The concept of flying under the radar is one that is very intriguing. There's so much that can be accomplished when all eyes are on others.

In one of the greatest crime dramas of the 1990s, "The Usual Suspects", Kevin Spacey's character, Roger "Verbal" Kint flew under the radar so brilliantly the entire film, leaving movie goer's stupefied when they realized that the meek and mild lackey was actually criminal mastermind Keyser Söze.

In sports, there are the guys who seemingly come out of the woodwork and announce their presence with authority. The Jaguars have a few of those guys along their roster.

Gearing up for the 2025 NFL Season, the Jaguars have a few of those guys that can be identified as "under-the-radar players". This inspired On SI's Jacksonville Jaguars Beat Writer John Shipley to highlight them in a recent episode. One player that absolutely fits the profile is DL Jordan Jefferson.

"I think, ultimately, probably the most under-the-radar player to watch, a guy who isn't talked about very much at all, but could potentially play a decent sized role and give the Jaguar some good snaps. [is] second-year defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson, Maason Smith's teammate at LSU", noted Shipley.

"Jordan Jefferson was drafted two rounds later, and a lot of the talk when it comes to the young defensive tackles was obviously around Smith. He was a second-round pick, a high ceiling. The Jaguars genuinely compared his potential to that of Chris Jones and what maybe he could become after they drafted him. So obviously, most of the attention was on Mason Smith, and continues to be on Maason Smith."

"I think Jordan Jefferson deserves some attention as well. I really think as the year went on, you saw some positive things from Jordan Jefferson. He does a really good job of just, you know, extending on blockers and shedding. He's nasty in the run game. He plays with some physicality [and} has the size and strength. He put a lot of, in my opinion, impressive flashes as a run defender on tape last year as a one technique. Now you imagine their defense. They're going to ask, you know, both him, Maason Smith, Eric Armstead, Tyler Lacy, Devon Hamilton, to play a little bit of both positions, you know, the one and the three technique. But I think Jordan Jefferson could be a solid backup nose tackle to Devon Hamilton, and potentially even down the road with another couple, you know, years of development, if you take steps forward, maybe even a starting nose tackle. "

"He put enough on tape last year, in my opinion, for him to be a guy you should be excited about when it comes to knowing that, okay, there's a brand new scheme in place. They're going to ask their defensive tackles to attack much more. That's at least the impression I've gotten and what I've seen. He's somebody who, you know, they've liked him inside the building dating back to last year because of the worker he is, you know. They really commended his work ethic in the locker room, in the weight room, on the practice field last year as a rookie, and have heard nothing different about the guy since. So Jordan Jefferson, I think, you know, actually has some upside. At the very least, I think, will play some kind of role in the defensive tackle rotation".

The veteran writer continued, "Normally, those guys aren't necessarily safe heading into the first couple seasons of a new regime [and] new coaching staff. But I think as long as Jordan Jefferson doesn't know that during training camp, which I wouldn't anticipate, I think he's going to have a spot on the roster. I think that he is somebody who the new staff really could kind of latch onto as a guy to develop and see what he can become in the next couple years. I think he's definitely flying under radar right now, maybe even for 2025 I think he's a guy to watch, definitely moving forward".

For players like Jordan Jefferson, he's better off staying in the shadows and letting the big names and high picks be the ones speculated on. while he goes about his business and shines. In fact, Jefferson is best off personifying Spacey's most-poignant quote in the aforementioned 1995 classic, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist".