The start of training camp is just under two weeks away for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who will need their defense to go into the regular season with some momentum. A key group within the unit will be the defensive ends, who make for one of the more interesting groups on the team.
As we continue our depth chart predictions, here is how we believe the defensive end position will look for the Jags:
| Defensive end | Big Defensive end | |
| No. 1 | *Yannick Ngakoue
Josh Allen |
Rodney Gunter |
| No. 2 | *K’Lavon Chaisson
(See upcoming strong-side linebackers depth chart) |
Dawuane Smoot |
| No. 3 |
Cassius Marsh (See upcoming strong-side linebackers depth chart) |
|
| No. 4 | Lerentee McCray | |
| No. 5 |
Of course, with the uncertainty behind Yannick Ngakoue, we put him at the No. 1 spot alongside Josh Allen. Simply put, if he plays on the tag and doesn’t miss a lot of preseason time, then he should start. If he doesn’t, Josh Allen is the guy.
Ngakoue will enter 2020 ranked second in franchise history in sacks with 37.5 on his career. He’ll enter this season with 14 forced fumbles which is good for second in franchise history, too. It will be up to him to make a decision on rather he’d like to play on the franchise tag despite being at odds with the Jags front office, and if he does, he’d be welcomed with open arms.
As for Allen, Ngakoue’s actions seems to indicate that the Jags should start focusing their attention on him to be the starter. As a part-time player, the 2019 first-round pick was impressive, beating the franchise’s rookie sack record held by Ngakoue with 10.5 and earning Pro Bowl honors. Allen was also close to winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, but Nick Bosa beat him out despite having fewer sacks.
This year’s second first-round selection, K’Lavon Chaisson, will also see snaps at defensive end and they will likely come on third-down, while he could be on the field as a strong-side linebacker on early downs. The Jags took Chaisson with the No. 20 overall selection (from the Los Angeles Rams) in April after he helped propelled the Louisiana State Tigers to a national championship. During the 2019 season, he registered 6.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss despite missing a couple of games in 2019.
Free-agent acquisition Cassius Marsh will also get a look at strong-side linebacker to start and will get snaps as a rotational defensive end, just like Chaisson. He’ll bring eight years of experience to the table with 159 career tackles and 14 forced fumbles.
As for Lerentee McCray, the Jags will use him as a special teams ace and he likely won’t see a lot of defensive snaps on the field — if at all. However, he does bring six years of experience to the table with 64 career tackles and four sacks.
As for the Jags’ big ends, free-agent Rodney Gunter should be set to start there. He’ll be filling the role of Calais Campbell, playing on the outside on early downs and possibly kicking inside on third downs. While previously with the Arizona Cardinals, he started in 38 games so it appears Gunter is battle-tested.
Smoot, on the other hand, will be entering his fourth season with the Jags and will be on a contract year. Last season was his most productive as he accumulated a career-high of six sacks while playing on the edge and interior of the line. After showing growth in 2019, there is no reason to not believe he’ll take another step, especially with the chance of a new contract in 2021.
Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.
[protected-iframe id=”1a04041f756057566dcd0e302ce32880-105974738-159322853″ info=”https://art19.com/shows/bleav-in-the-jacksonville-jaguars/episodes/e2fdc26b-1dff-47ba-b088-af1e505b6195/embed” scrolling=”no”]