Jacksonville Heads Into Week 1 With One Defensive Tackle Who's Actually Played

The Jaguars spent the summer patching the offensive line — trading for Daniel Faalele, activating Cole Van Lanen, managing Patrick Mekari's back surgery — and that work was visible and necessary. What hasn't moved is the defensive tackle situation, which enters the regular season essentially unchanged: DaVon Hamilton is the only DT on the roster who logged meaningful snaps last year. Ruke Orhorhoro and Tommy Akingbesote are listed behind him, but neither carried real production in 2025.

That's a thin rotation by any standard. Most NFL fronts cycle two or three tackles through a game to manage snap counts and keep Hamilton fresh against run-heavy offenses. Right now Jacksonville doesn't have a clear option to do that. The front office addressed the offensive line with urgency when it became a camp emergency; the defensive interior has not received the same attention.

My read is this: it's a manageable gap until it isn't. Hamilton staying healthy and available makes it a footnote. One bad snap, one tweak, and the Jaguars are asking unproven players to hold the middle against starting offensive lines. The analyst piece that ran earlier this week asked what happens when Hamilton can't play — that's the right question, and the roster still doesn't have a good answer to it.