The slow and steady rise of DaVon Hamilton through his first three NFL seasons earned him a three-year, $34.5 million extension from the Jacksonville Jaguars. But the 26-year-old nose tackle says the new deal doesn’t mean he’s reached his peak.
In a feature with the Florida Times-Union’s Demetrius Harvey, Hamilton says he’s still trying to round out his game to become one of the better interior defensive linemen in the league.
“I’m really trying to diversify my game in general. I don’t want to just be known as the run-stopper even though I’m really good at it,” Hamilton told Harvey. “That’s my thing, but I really want to be more diverse as a whole defensive lineman in the NFL.”
Hamilton earned grades of 53.9 and 52.8 from Pro Football Focus in his first two seasons before breaking out with a 74.9 grade in 2022. While he was second on the team in run stops with 31, Hamilton was also sixth on the team in quarterback pressures with 31.
“I tell him, look at the growth of guys like Vita Vea. People said that Vita Vea was just gonna be a run-stopper coming out of Tampa Bay. And I think he ended up leading them in sacks this past year,” Jaguars defensive line coach Brentson Buckner told Harvey of Hamilton.
“You look at Daron Payne and those guys. The evolution of those guys, because they’re blessed with athletic ability, when the game goes to more pass, they can evolve into powerful pass rushers who could be very relevant in this game and DaVon has that type of ability. Now he’s got to go out there and do it.”
Hamilton is now under contract with the Jaguars through the 2026 NFL season.
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