The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year, and one of the biggest reasons was that they were pushed around at the line of scrimmage. Looking back, asking their front four to bulk up backfired, so the new coaching staff is asking their defensive linemen to play at their natural weight. On top of that, Arik Armstead will once again play inside after mostly lining up on the edge last year.
When you add it all up, it is easy to see the Jaguars' defensive line faring much better in 2025. However, one prominent NFL voice argues that their success will depend on whether Maason Graham shows out.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports joined Jaguars Happy Hour and told hosts J.P. Shadrick and Austen Lane that the Jacksonville defensive line was too heavy to be effective in 2024.
"I mean, there were so many mysteries last year, and that was one of them, why they played him in and nobody ever asked him during the season, or he wouldn't say, remember, and we just badgered that all year," Prisco noted when asked to share his thoughts about Armstead switching back to defensive tackle. "It was a dumb decision by a bad coaching staff. Okay, let's be real about it. But again, it goes back to what I said last year. I mean, last segment, the meat story."
Prisco continued, "And I've heard this secondhand, I haven't verified for many of the players, but supposedly, at some point they wanted the players to get bigger, and the defensive coordinator came in and threw a bunch of hamburgers in front of them, and said, You gotta get bigger and stronger. And so you had Hines-Allen, remember how big he got? Travon Walker had to be three-something plus at one point, because he got bigger too. And Armstead was playing end, they wanted him to play end, and he was a bigger guy. Think about it. It didn't work, and they blew it. They botched the whole thing."
But as important as Armstead will be in 2025, Prisco argues that Maason Smith will be the X-Factor in the defensive trenches.
"And now Armstead is back at defensive tackle. The two guys are lighter and leaner, which is what they should be. Hamilton seems like he looks like he's healthy again, which is big for them. But the guy, and I said this on 1010, earlier last week, the guy that needs to be, the guy that changes the way they play, is Maason Smith. I'm sorry, that's the one and at the end of last year," Prisco said.
"And there was a whole other mystery about him too, remember? Why didn't he play? There was talk about him being overweight. Well, nobody ever said anything about it. Why didn't he play? That he was a healthy scratch. He played well down the stretch, and he's got to be a bigger part of their defense going forward."
Smith, a second-round pick in last year's draft, was a healthy scratch early in the 2024 season but managed to finish strong, posting 11 total pressures and two sacks in the last six games.
Mason Smith is in a position to become a key co on the Jaguars D-Line
There's no doubt that the Jacksonville Jaguars will need Maason Smith to step up if they want to dominate the line of scrimmage. But aside from the sophomore making strides, there are a handful of reasons to think that the defensive line will be much better. Having Arik Armstead switching back inside is among the biggest ones.
After all, the former Oregon Duck is better suited to play defensive tackle. But as he recently said, there was nobody else who could spell Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker last year. That will change in 2025. The Jags added a trio of proven pass rushers after the NFL Draft to round out their rotation: Dennis Gardeck, Dawuane Smoot, and Emmanuel Ogbah.
On top of that, DaVon Hamilton will be more than one year removed from a non-football injury he suffered before the 2023 season. He will offer depth inside, and if the new coaching staff chooses to, it could also deploy Walker inside. That may seem odd, but he's found success there both at the NFL and college level.
If that wasn't enough, defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile will be a breath of fresh air. Put it all together, and it's easy to picture Maason Smith and the rest of the front four wreaking havoc in 2025.
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