JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Just a few weeks ago, Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker were tied for second among pass-rush duos in total pressures. Since, Travon Walker suffered a wrist injury, which has more or less sidelined him for two whole games, and Josh Hines-Allen has failed to make much noise without Walker on the other end of the line.

Now that Walker is without an injury designation, can his return help reset a struggling Jaguars’ pass-rush?

Travon Walker might be more important to this team than maybe many people realized, both as a pass-rusher and as a run-defender. In his absence, the Jaguars have recorded their two lowest pressure rates of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.

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Walker almost led the team in pressures this past weekend, despite only playing 16 total snaps.

Only 12 of those 16 were pass-rush snaps. With Walker, the Jaguars have a very respectable 33.3% pressure rate. Without him, it has plummeted to just 21%.

It would be an understatement to say that Hines-Allen has struggled in Walker’s absence. In the last two games, Hines-Allen has recorded just three total pressures, including zero against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s his first game without a pressure since Week 16 of the 2022 season.

Without Walker, teams can key in on Josh Hines-Allen and just make sure he isn’t able to wreck the game since there isn’t much concern for anyone else on the Jaguars’ defensive front.

Speaking of, let’s talk about some defensive tackles.

The Jaguars’ defensive interior has gotten a lot of flack the last couple seasons and rightfully so.

For as many pressures as Walker and Hines-Allen, the defensive interior sure isn’t pulling their weight. Before Walker’s injury, the pass-rush duo was the only pairing in the NFL to account for over 50% of the team’s pressures.

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Maason Smith has actually done fairly well statistically as a pass-rusher this season in limited snaps, recording seven pressures on just 61 pass-rush snaps this season. His 16.1% pass-rush win rate according to Pro Football Focus ranks 10th among DTs. Arik Armstead has also made

some noise as he is T-13th in pressures (17) and tied for third in sacks (3.5).

Outside of Armstead, who ranks 55th in pass-rush win % and Smith in limited action, it’s tough sledding for the Jaguars’ defensive tackles. DaVon Hamilton, Dawuane Smoot, and Austin Johnson rank 104th, T-111th, and T-126 in Pass-Rush Win % among the Top-129 DTs.

In Walker’s stead, Ogbah hasn’t moved the needle much either. It’s become increasingly obvious by the week just how important Travon Walker is to this team. If he’s a full-go this weekend, expect this Jaguars pass-rush to look how it did earlier in the season rather than in recent weeks. That said the Rams pass-protection is as good as it comes this season.

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