There aren’t many teams coming into 2023 with as much momentum as the Jacksonville Jaguars. They won six out of their last seven regular-season games to win the AFC South and then put together an incredible comeback victory against the Los Angeles Chargers during Super Wild Card Weekend. Jacksonville trailed 27-0 before winning the game 31-30.
Their season ended the next week against the eventual champion Kansas City Chiefs, but the Jaguars showed they are a team not to take lightly. They are loaded with young talent on both sides of the ball and have turned a corner with head coach Doug Pederson leading the way.
The natural progression of the young players on the team should help the Jaguars improve this season. But, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to bring in some more seasoned veterans to help push things along.
That is exactly what Brad Spielberger of PFF believes they should do before training camp. The one move Spielberger has pegged the Jaguars to do is to add veteran pass rusher Justin Houston to their defense.
“Houston’s 18.4% pass-rush win rate and 14.6% pressure percentage in 2022 were both top-25 marks among edge defenders, and he managed to add 9.5 sacks to his total, which brings him to 111.5 for his career, a top-40 mark all-time. For a team looking for a menace on passing downs, Houston is still that guy entering his age-34 season.”
Houston would be a great mentor to add to the mix for 2022 No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker and Josh Allen. He would not only teach them the tools of the trade but his presence would make life much easier for them, giving the Jaguars a three-headed pass-rushing monster.
In 2022, Houston showed that he still had plenty left in the tank, picking up 9.5 sacks in 14 games with the Baltimore Ravens. Having Pederson as head coach is something that could aid the Jaguars in landing the veteran as well.
Despite being on opposite sides of the ball, the two were both members of the Chiefs from 2013-2015. That connection could lead to Houston wanting to reunite with Pederson, who has quickly turned things around in Jacksonville after the Urban Meyer debacle.
