The Jacksonville Jaguars defense surrendered the 10th most rushing yards last season, according to StatMuse. To help bolster a defensive line unit that struggled in that area, general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson signed former New York Jets defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi to a three-year, $30-million deal during free agency.
Fatukasi said he believes that he can be more than a run-stuffer with the Jaguars when he met with the local media last week. So far in his NFL career, he has been known as a defender who can help teams slow down the run but wants to showcase that he can be a pass-rushing threat, too.
“I feel like there’s more to everybody’s game,” Fatukasi said. “I definitely feel like there’s more to my game and I’m definitely excited to work on it and tap into that. Like I said, all it took was for one person and a group of people to believe in me. That goes a long way when someone believes in you, so I’m definitely willing to work to see how much further I can get to my own style of play, a better style of play, a smarter style of play.”
He’s also excited to team up with defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell who was an assistant with the Jets during his rookie season. Fatukasi said he’s spoken to him about his role in Caldwell’s defense but is focused on developing good chemistry with his teammates and learning the playbook first.
“I mean, there’s been talks about certain things, but as we get closer to that time, we’ll start to really see how we mesh and how we utilize each person, including myself,” Fatukasi said. “First thing’s first, we’ve got to come in, get acclimated with the guys, understand my playbook and we can run from there.”
Fatukasi will join a young Jags defensive line group that also includes notables like DaVon Hamilton, Jay Tufele, and Roy Robertson-Harris, to name a few. His addition should help their presence in the trenches when it comes to their play within the AFC South especially, as they’ve struggled to stop notables like Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry. But if their pass-rush is bolstered by Fatukasi, that would be a huge plus for the team, too, as the Jags play some talented passing attacks.
