Jacksonville trades with Falcons, one defensive tackle for another, adding pass-rushing depth to their front line.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made their first trade of the offseason, and it was a player-for-player swap of former second-round draft picks: their own backup defensive tackle Maason Smith for Ruke Orhorhoro from the Atlanta Falcons.
Orhorhoro, 24, hasn't put together consistent seasons, but he is expected to provide Jacksonville with pass-rushing depth for a team with a league-leading run defense and a linebacking corps and secondary that ranked second in takeaways.
The 6-foot-4, 295-pounder recorded 30 pressures last season, ranking 37th out of the 134 qualified defensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). The 35th pick in 2024, Orhorhoro played 599 snaps last year, more than double the minimum snaps (250) required for a PFF ranking.
His 30 pressures would rank second on the team behind Arik Armstead's 48, and is 19 more than DaVon Hamilton and Smith. He also recorded 23 hurries, ranking 23rd out of 134.
While he has shown the ability to get to the quarterback, Orhorhoro's pass-rush win rate last season was 6 percent. (Win rate is determined by a player's ability to shed blocks in 2.5 seconds.)
That pass-rush win rate was decrease of 4 percent from his rookie season in Atlanta.
The former Clemson Tiger finished last season with 25 tackles (12 solo) and 3.5 sacks in 17 games, his first healthy season.
Former Falcons defensive coordinator Jay Rodgers said after Atlanta drafted him the team anticipated Orhorhoro's presence in the middle would help the defensive tackle unit.
"The ability to just be able to lock guys out, knock people back, get off of blocks, make plays at the point of attack," Rodgers said on April 26, 2024. "You know, there are a lot of plays that come his direction that have to go elsewhere."
Orhorhoro's potential as a pass-rusher could help address the Jaguars' limitations in that area of the defense, but he doesn't solve all their issues. The former Falcon's 3.5 sack performance last season was his only full year of production.
He played eight games in 2024, before an ankle injury sent him to injured reserve.
The Lagos, Nigeria, native has shown flashes throughout his career, but he has not yet developed into a consistent playmaker at his position.
Smith found himself in a similar situation while in Jacksonville. The former LSU Tiger finished with 17 tackles (10 solo) and three sacks in 11 games in his rookie season.
But last season Smith showed much less promise, with zero sacks and two fewer total tackles in 13 appearances.
Both players have shown flashes over the past two years that seemed like reflections of their and now have a change of scenery that could result in much-needed improvement and develop into consistent rotational players.
Although Orhorhoro adds to the Jaguars' depth at defensive tackle, his move to Jacksonville may not change the team's approach to the draft next week.
Defensive tackle remains a positional need team officials have indicated they may address via the draft, as they currently hold 11 selections.
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