Jacksonville Jaguars roster, depth chart 2025: 3 most underrated gamers

There was a time, not so way back, when the Jacksonville Jaguars had the NFL’s finest protection, had been amongst NFL’s finest groups when it counted, and had been one half of soccer away from a Tremendous Bowl, You don’t should undergo the dim recesses of your thoughts to get again to 2017, and the 14-3 second-half lead this franchise had over the New England Patriots within the AFC Championship sport, earlier than Invoice Belichick and Tom Brady did what they practically at all times did.

These Jaguars seemed to be contenders for some time, however a sequence of ill-informed entrance workplace choices spit the bit earlier than issues may actually get going. Whether or not it was Govt VP of Soccer Operations Tom Coughlin telling everyone to get off his garden from 2018-2019, which led to the basement 1-15 season in 2020, or City Meyer’s all-time nuclear catastrophe in 2021, or the hiring of aggressively odd normal supervisor Trent Baalke that very same season, the Jaguars’ 37-79 file and .319 win fee since 2018 (fourth-worst within the NFL in each instances) communicate to the reality of issues.

The 2025 Jaguars responded to the 2024 Jaguars’ 4-13 file by giving Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson their strolling papers, changing them with former Los Angeles Rams Director of Scouting James Gladstone as the brand new GM, and former Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen as the top coach. Clearly, the first assemble in Coen’s contract is to get essentially the most and finest out of Trevor Lawrence, which has been a blended bag earlier than.

However greater than that, it’s in regards to the Jaguars regaining some authority of their stance. The choice to commerce up within the first spherical to take Colorado WR/CB/Unicorn From Outer House Travis Hunter was simply that sort of daring transfer, however there’s clearly extra to be performed as this franchise appears to be like to place all of the mistaken strikes within the rear-view.

Within the continuation of our “Hidden Gems” sequence, we take a look at one underrated veteran, one underrated free-agent signing, and one underrated draft decide who may assist the Jags develop into a severe matter as soon as once more.

Underrated Veteran: CB Jarrian Jones

So, the underrated veteran is a man whose rookie season was in 2024? What the what?

Nicely, this is a chance to trumpet what Jarrian Jones did in that rookie season, and in addition to debate how vital it’s to have a devoted slot defender in right now’s NFL, the place 3×1 and 2×2 units are the order of the day, and the methods through which receivers are deployed from there are extra advanced than ever. You’ll be able to have nice exterior cornerbacks all day lengthy, but when your major slot man is weak, quarterbacks will determine that out.

That was not an issue for the Jaguars in 2024, primarily as a result of Jones got here in as a third-round pick of Florida State, and nailed down that nickel/slot/overhang stuff. General, Jones had 85% of his 718 snaps within the slot final season, 15% within the field, and 1% as an out of doors cornerback. And he was lockdown from Day 1, permitting 45 catches on 62 targets for 457 yards, 317 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, six go breakups, and an opponent passer score of 86.6. Slot defenders will see greater catch charges to a level as a result of they’re going towards receivers who will catch beneath the protection, and there’s no boundary that will help you out, however Jones took to it instantly, and that’s after only one season with the Seminoles through which he was the first slot man.

I obtained to speak with Jones on the 2024 scouting mix about his collegiate work, and the man was not missing in confidence.

“My total physique of labor from the 2023 season,” he mentioned with amusing after I requested him to element his finest play. “Like I mentioned, the numbers communicate for themselves, and should you take a look at the numbers, I used to be statistically the perfect.

“I didn’t make any performs on this sport, however go watch me towards Wake Forest. See me urgent towards the slot, and also you’ll see what’s up.”

Which was certainly an excellent place to begin. It’s not straightforward to press when within the slot as a result of you may lose simply versus choice routes and two-way goes, however as soon as once more, Jones had it collectively. And in that season, when 394 of his 453 snaps got here from the slot, he allowed 16 catches on 32 targets for 158 yards, 117 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, three interceptions, three go breakups, and an opponent passer score of 25.3. So when he mentioned that he was “statistically the perfect,” he had a degree.

The NFL is clearly extra advanced, however Jones’ understanding of his place, and the way it pertains to the remainder of the ecosystem, was very clear in a short time.

“He might be pretty much as good as he desires to be,” former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen mentioned of Jones because the 2024 season got here down. “That’s the place he’s going to go, is that if he desires to be the perfect, then he’ll proceed to pattern and work that manner. If he thinks that that is it, then that is what you’ll see, which he’s enjoying actually good soccer proper now. However there’s one other step in his sport. That’s the factor, there’s one other step and one other stage for him to attain on this league, to actually develop into one of the crucial dominant gamers at his place. He’ll let you know that that’s what he desires to do. So, we’ve simply obtained to proceed to remain dominant, we’ve obtained to be disciplined within the issues that we do going into the offseason and are available again even higher subsequent 12 months, now that he is aware of the season within the NFL. He can do it. We’ve simply obtained to take the one-day-at-a-time method.”

Nielsen additionally had lots to say in regards to the significance of getting an ideal slot defender in any fashionable protection, and the way Jones stepped as much as that chance.

“It’s a tricky place to seek out, for positive. For a participant to play it at a excessive stage, there’s not a number of guys on the market that may. It’s one of many hardest positions to seek out for a man to return in, particularly a rookie, and have a direct affect like he has. It’s been fairly spectacular. So, give him all of the credit score on the earth as a result of he actually did have the appropriate psychological method coming into the season and obtained thrown in there very early, and he’s taken it and made it his place and ran with it, so it’s been fairly cool to see.”

We’re nonetheless ready to see how the skin cornerback stuff shakes out, particularly with how a lot Travis Hunter performs there, however in relation to that nickel slot, the Jags are simply wonderful.

Underrated Free-Agent Signing: EDGE Dennis Gardeck

Picture by Norm Corridor/Getty Pictures

Dennis Gardeck has been an underdog all through his NFL profession. An undrafted free agent out of the College of Sioux Falls (one among 4 folks to ever make the professionals after time with the Cougars), Gardeck signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, performed a grand whole of three non-special groups snaps in his first two seasons, and at last obtained on the sphere as an edge defender in 2020 after Chandler Jones’ season-ending damage. In simply 94 snaps and 79 pass-rushing alternatives, he blew everybody away with seven sacks and 18 whole pressures, proving to be nearly unblockable in restricted reps.

Gardeck adopted that up with additional transition time as he suffered his first ACL damage, however he was all the best way again for the 2023 season, when he totaled six sacks and 42 pressures, wanting very very similar to a creating elite-level quarterback disruptor. Gardeck constructed upon that in Week 2 of the 2024 season, when he went completely thermonuclear on the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line with three sacks, 4 pressures, 5 stops, and a compelled fumble in a 41-10 Cardinals win.

Per week later, he logged his second profession interception towards the Detroit Lions when he dropped into hook/curl protection and stole a shallow cross try from Jared Goff to tight finish Brock Wright.

Sadly, there was one other torn ACL that ended his 2024 marketing campaign seven weeks in, and now, Gardeck is beginning over as soon as once more on the one-year, $2 million contract with $1.5 million assured the Jaguars gave him. That’s a ridiculous cut price if the 30-year-old, who will flip 31 on August 9, can return to type.

Whereas the dimensions of Gardeck’s contract tells you that few within the league consider he can come again from all of it, betting towards this man has confirmed to be a idiot’s errand earlier than.

Underrated Draft Decide: RB Bhayshul Tuten

Picture by Logan Bowles/Getty Pictures

In Liam Coen’s one 12 months because the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, he wasn’t simply bolstered by an ideal offensive line, a killer receiver group, and the perfect of Baker Mayfield — he additionally obtained a number of juice from rookie working again Bucky Irving, the fourth-round phenom from Oregon who led all first-year backs with 1,199 yards and eight speeding touchdowns on 224 carries. At 5’10 and 195 kilos, Irving isn’t the largest again. however he proved to be an actual bear to sort out along with his pace and elusiveness, forcing 62 missed tackles on his solution to 15 carries of 15 or extra yards.

Coen couldn’t take Irving with him to Jacksonville, so he did the subsequent smartest thing. With the 104th general decide within the fourth spherical of the 2025 draft, the Jags snapped up Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten. In case you didn’t have time to observe Tuten’s tape earlier than the 2026 scouting mix, he did his finest to make you’re taking that point with an general efficiency that was utterly off the hook. Begin with the 1.49-second 10-yard cut up (ninety fifth percentile amongst working backs on the mix since 1999) and the 4.32-second 40-yard sprint (98th percentile), and the one query from there was whether or not it transferred to the sphere.

That, actually, was not an issue. In 2024, the 5’ 9¼, 206-pound Tuten gained 1,150 yards and scored 15 speeding touchdowns on 183 carries. He compelled 62 missed tackles (the place have we seen that earlier than?) and had 21 runs of 15 or extra yards. All that regardless of the ankle damage he performed via late within the season.

Tuten lasted so long as he did within the draft as a result of there are considerations about his capability to make hay contained in the tackles (which I don’t perceive — he had 11 explosive runs final season going to the A- and B-gaps and he averaged 4.47 yards after contact per carry in 2024), and ball safety is a little bit of a difficulty (he had 9 fumbles in two seasons with Tech after transferring from North Carolina A&T). However when you will get a again on the third day able to setting a protection on its heels in a number of methods, it’s finest to deal with what the prospect can do, and go away the remainder to teaching.

Tuten’s NFL head coach already is aware of this.

“In case you take a look at Tuten with the flexibility to strike from a distance, he can get to the second or third stage and rating from wherever on the sphere,” Coen mentioned after the draft of his new function again. “I feel behind the road of scrimmage, compelled missed tackles [were] via the roof for him by way of getting again or at the very least getting yards after that contact behind the road of scrimmage.”

Which sounds lots like one Bucky Irving.

(All superior metrics courtesy of Professional Soccer Focus and Sports activities Data Options).