Who is Jacksonville Jaguars' top candidate to win Defensive Player of the Year?
Who is considered the Jacksonville Jaguars' top Defensive Player of the Year candidate for the 2025 NFL season?
Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network recently selected who he believes the top candidate is for each team. When it came to the Jaguars, defensive end Josh Hines-Allen was the pick.
"The Jacksonville Jaguars rely heavily on Hines-Allen to get to the quarterback, as he's the fifth-highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL," wrote Infante. "If he bounces back to double digits (sacks), he'll generate plenty of league-wide attention."
Hines-Allen was still quite productive last season. His 63 quarterback pressures were the 10th-most among defensive ends, and he ranked 16th in PFF's pass rush win rate.
However, in comparison to his 2023 season, Hines-Allen's production took a step backward this past year, after he totaled 90 pressures and 19 sacks in 2023, ranking in the top five in both categories.
Very much of note, former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen had Hines-Allen and several other defenders put on weight last season. As Hines-Allen recalled during offseason programs recently, he was playing at 285 pounds in 2024, which came with "a little more wear and tear" on his body, as he put it.
But this year, Liam Coen and Anthony Campanile wanted Hines-Allen--and others--back at his more natural playing weight.
"I was 285," Hines-Allen said of his playing weight last season. "I was much bigger. My mindset was always to be as dominant but it was, obviously, holding a little bit more weight puts a little more wear and tear on the body.
"It was a lot. Too much. Again, learned to adapt, have know what works best for you, something I tried, and something I'm like, alright, probably don't want to do that again. So we're working on maintaining a good goal for me this year and put some good tape out there."
At a comfortable weight and in a more attacking defensive scheme under Campanile, the Defensive Player of the Year award and a few other accolades are what Hines-Allen is chasing.
"To break the sack record," said Hines-Allen when asked what his goals were. "Be an All-Pro and win Defensive Player of the Year."
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