Does Former Lions' Top Pick Make Sense For Jaguars to Target in FA?

The Jacksonville Jaguars' pass-rush was one of the most disappointing aspects of the 2024 season.

While Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are star pass-rushers who can put up a double-digit sack season with ease, the Jaguars had little help behind them -- a trend that has now repeated for two years.

A big reason for this is due to the Jaguars failing to get proper production from the interior defensive line when it came to getting after the quarterback. Arik Armstead was miscast as a defensive end in former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's scheme, while second-round pick Maason Smith did not begin to put things together until the final month of the season.

As a result, it is far from a surprise to see defensive tackle listed as a top need for the Jaguars from a variety of outlets. Among those outlets is Pro Football Focus, who listed the Jaguars as a top potential landing spot for Detroit Lions defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike.

"Onwuzurike is the penetrating 3-technique interior pass-rusher that every team covets. And given how ineffective the Jaguars' interior pass rush was in 2024 — having ranked dead- ast in pass-rush win rate by defensive tackles (8.9%) — he will undoubtedly be a target for new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile’s defense. Pairing Onwuzurike’s 12%-plus pass rush win rate in each of the past two seasons with the already productive tandem of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker would certainly turn heads in the AFC South," PFF said.

It will be interesting to see how the Jaguars address the defensive tackle position this offseason considering Armstead and Smith aren't going anywhere as incumbent three-techniques. The new staff won't be married to either option since they were brought in by the old regime, but head coach Liam Coen has already indicated he has big plans for Armstead.

"Yeah we got to stop the run. We talked about stopping the run. But what are our guys superpowers, and how do we play to those?" Coen said last week.

"While also continue to develop some of the things that we need to do in the run game, and stopping the run. You know, getting Armstead potentially back at the three-technique, and moving him in that position where he's most comfortable and disruptive. I saw it firsthand in multiple years in LA. And then, okay, how do we just continue to play to these guys' strengths? Like, that's what this has to be about."

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