With training camp now on the horizon, what is one final roster move that the Jacksonville Jaguars need to make?
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz recently answered this question for each NFL team, and when it came to the Jaguars, further bolstering the defensive end depth by signing former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney is the move that was selected.
“The Jaguars have a strong pair of starting edge rushers with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker,” Schatz wrote. “But there are questions about the depth behind them. Emmanuel Ogbah is 32 years old and had just five sacks as a full-time starter in Miami last season. Myles Cole had no sacks on 11.3% of defensive snaps as a seventh-round rookie.”
Adding to the depth behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker has already been a priority for the Jaguars. Since the draft ended, GM James Gladstone has already signed Emmanuel Ogbah, Dennis Gardeck, and Dawuane Smoot.
So, given that those players have been brought in over Clowney already, I’m not sure another addition at defensive end is in the cards for the Jaguars.
With that said, the reason three veteran signings have been made is because improved depth behind Hines-Allen and Walker is a must. While those two will shoulder the workload here, this is a heavily rotated position with four or sometimes even five players seeing snaps each week, which puts a premium on having strong depth.
“You want, we talked about it the other day, waves of maybe some different types of rushers at times,” Liam Coen said of the defensive end depth. “When you’re playing in the trenches specifically, when you come in and maybe you’re a UDFA or a rookie in general, that size, that strength, that speed, especially in the trenches, is different for anybody.
“So there’s always a curve, there’s always going to be a learning curve and physical growth curve that is going to occur. But getting some of those guys that have established themselves in this league and played meaningful snaps, I think will just help us in times of crisis and just to be a little bit more consistent in some way, knowing that we’re pretty young as a team in general.”
Clowney spent the 2024 season with the Carolina Panthers, where he appeared in 14 games, totaling 44 pressures and six sacks. Among all defensive ends, Clowney ranked 20th in PFF’s pass rush win rate metric.
Clowney has made three Pro Bowls in his 11 NFL seasons and was named a second-team All-Pro once back in 2016.
According to Over the Cap, the Jaguars have $18.91 million in available salary cap space still remaining.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars urged to sign Jadeveon Clowney to boost DE depth