Second Time Around by Gay Ingram7/2/2023 “What you see with the smaller guys that are having success in this league is it’s hard for the 6-6, 6-7 tackles to get down to their level, and it’s a changeup for our guys,” Baalke said. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Miami native had 19 1/2 sacks during his last two seasons, leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with 9 1/2 sacks in 2022 and ranking second with 10 in 2021.Īnd undersized pass rushers have become more common since James Harrison, Dwight Freeney and Elvis Dumervil broke the mold. Former first-round picks Josh Allen (seventh overall in 2019) and K’Lavon Chaisson (20th in 2020) are entering the final year of their rookie deals, and Jacksonville waited until the fifth round to add a pass rusher in last week’s draft.īaalke chose Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah with the 136th overall selection. Jacksonville does have Jordan Smith, a fourth-round draft pick from UAB in 2021, coming off reconstructive knee surgery and second-year pro De’Shaan Dixon.īut the position is hardly set for this upcoming season or beyond. Smoot could end up re-signing with Jacksonville, but he’s unlikely to be ready for training camp. Backup pass rushers Arden Key and Dawuane Smoot are gone: Key signed with rival Tennessee in free agency and Smoot is a free agent who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon sustained in December.
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