If there’s a pressing concern for the Jacksonville Jaguars heading into the 2023 season, it’s the team’s pass rush.
While the offense promises to be even better than the top 10 unit from 2022, the Jaguars did very little to address their inability to affect opposing quarterbacks. After finishing 26th in the NFL in sacks last year, the team allowed Arden Key to walk in free agency and waited until the fifth round of the draft to add Yasir Abdullah.
Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard isn’t worried about the pass rush, though.
“Fans don’t see what we see,” Wingard told 1010XL after practice earlier this week. “Fans like to talk, they like to speculate, and that’s what you do, people love football. But they’re not in this building every day, they don’t see what we see, they don’t know what we know. We’re confident.”
The Jacksonville pass rush will mostly rely on the duo of Josh Allen and Travon Walker to make significant strides in 2023. Allen recorded 10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019, but hasn’t been able to reach eight sacks in any season since. Walker finished his first NFL season with 3.5 sacks.
A deeper look at the pressure created by the Jaguars defense last year can provide some reasons for optimism, though. Jacksonville was sixth in the NFL in quarterback hurries (defined as a pressure that forced an early throw or moved the quarterback out of the pocket), and it was first in quarterback knockdowns (defined as a passer hitting the ground after a throw).
That’s a lot of close-but-no-cigar moments that could translate to many more sacks if there’s just a bit more development from the rushers and also just a bit more time bought by the coverage unit.
If Wingard is correct and the pass rush is better than it appears, the Jaguars may have all the pieces in place to make a serious run.
