JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This season was another year of disappointing play from the Jaguars defensive interior. For a while, Arik Armstead’s play kept the unit afloat, but a late-season injury would leave the Jags desperate for production from their defensive tackles when they needed it most.
On the season, the Jaguars’ defensive tackles ranked 23rd in Pressure % and 24th in Pass-Rush Win %, according to Pro Football Focus. But, as previously mentioned, the unit ranked dead last following Arik Armstead’s injury, collecting just 12 pressures and zero sacks over the last five weeks.
Arik Armstead
Armstead started the year off red hot and looked to be back to his former San Francisco self. Through the first 12 weeks, he totaled 41 pressures and 5.5 sacks. At the time, those figures ranked among the league’s best at the position. He even put the final nail in the coffin against his former ball club with a strip sack onto Brock Purdy in the closing minutes.
Unfortunately, a hand injury ruined what could have been a career year for Armstead. Prior to it, Armstead had averaged 3.7 pressures per game and 5.5 sacks in 11 games. After, he mustered just 1.3 pressures per game and zero sacks. He recorded just one pressure in the Jaguars’ Wildcard game against the Bills.
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It’s tough to envision Armstead’s future in Jacksonville. On one hand, you could argue the Jags saw a resurgence before his hand injury. On the other, he isn’t getting any younger and the Jaguars are in desperate need of a future at the position.
Davon Hamilton
DaVon Hamilton has never really offered the Jaguars much as a pass-rusher. Over the entirety of his career, he has accounted for just 79 pressures and 5.5 sacks across 86 games and six seasons.
It’s no real surprise that Hamilton ranked 117th among the Top-127 defensive tackles with a 3.6% Pass-Rush Win %. Where Hamilton does shine is in run defense. In 2025, Hamilton ranked Top-25 in Run-Stop % for the third time in the last four seasons.
The question is, how much is that worth? His play was no doubt a huge factor that contributed to the Jaguars No. 1-ranked run defense, but does that warrant his $12.5 million cap hit next season?
The Rest
Unfortunately for Jaguars fans, there wasn’t much outside of Armstead and Hamilton this season. Maason Smith failed to develop as Armstead’s future replacement, and the remaining tackles were more of a revolving door of fill-ins. As a collective, the group totaled just 17 pressures and one sack.
Smith recorded 11 of those pressures, which was tied for second among Jacksonville DTs, but that’s a massive disappointment after 14 as a rookie. He was even a healthy scratch down the stretch, including the Wildcard game.
Someone to monitor is newcomer Matt Dickerson. He didn’t make too much noise on the scoresheet, but the staff seems to like him enough to make him a starter down the stretch. That said, he only recorded four pressures, but his Pass-Rush Win % was nearly twice as high as Hamilton’s (6.0%).
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