{"id":869441,"date":"2026-04-18T21:33:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T21:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869441\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T21:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T21:33:47","slug":"jaguars-draft-direction-at-dt-after-ruke-orhorhoro-trade-couldnt-be-clearer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869441\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaguars&#8217; draft direction at DT after Ruke Orhorhoro trade couldn&#8217;t be clearer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5h\">There was no greater position of need for the Jacksonville Jaguars than defensive tackle ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. Or at least that wasn&#8217;t the case until they sent Maason Smith to the Atlanta Falcons in return for Ruke Orhorhoro.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5k\">With no defensive tackle inside the top 55 at the position in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profootballnetwork.com\/nfl-dt-rankings-impact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Pro Football Network&#8217;s Defensive Tackle Impact<\/a> (DTi) score last year, Jacksonville probably needed at least two contributors. Smith, a 2024 second-round pick, played over 50 percent of the snaps just once last year \u2014 a sign he&#8217;d lost favor with the new coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5n\">Then, Jacksonville&#8217;s ascending general manager James Gladstone<a href=\"https:\/\/blackandteal.com\/head-turning-stat-affirms-jaguars-fleeced-falcons-in-ruke-orhorhoro-trade-falcons-maason-smith\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> pulled off a heist, <a href=\"https:\/\/blackandteal.com\/head-turning-stat-affirms-jaguars-fleeced-falcons-in-ruke-orhorhoro-trade-falcons-maason-smith\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sending Smith to the Atlanta Falcons<\/a> for Ruke Orhorhoro.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5q\">Orhorhoro has his own warts, but the explosive 3-technique generated 30 pressures last year and will absolutely get after the quarterback in Black &amp; Teal.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5t\">What does the Orhorhoro acquisition tell us about the Jaguars&#8217; NFL Draft plans just five days from the event kicking off in Pittsburgh?<\/p>\n<p>Jaguars will beef up their run defense in the 2026 NFL Draft<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5z\">Many mock drafts for the 2026 NFL Draft have Jacksonville selecting Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller, but I\u2019m not so sure he is the right fit anymore.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"62\">The Jags&#8217; interior defensive line is still missing beef. 335-pound DaVon Hamilton is a serviceable option, but a middle-of-the-pack run defense could use a real plug on early downs. Hamilton&#8217;s 9.6 percent stuff rate was 19th in the NFL, but the stress of this unit will be heightened without Devin Lloyd.<\/p>\n<p>New names to watch at defensive tackle for the Jaguars<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"68\">Throughout the draft, there will be quality nose tackles available. Orhorhoro might cross off names like Gracen Halton and Zane Durant, but I&#8217;ll be watching closely when the Jags are on the clock to see when they choose to invest here.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blackandteal.com\/jaguars-2026-nfl-draft-texas-tech-dt-lee-hunter-scouting-report\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Texas Tech&#8217;s Lee Hunter<\/a> is increasingly likely to slip in the direction of No. 56. Hunter&#8217;s disruptive, brutish strength jumps off the tape, but concerning measurements and tests at the combine are closer to &#8220;undraftable&#8221; status. It&#8217;s a fine balance teams will navigate on Day 2.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">In Round 3, Iowa State&#8217;s Dominique Orange was the very first player that popped in my head as a potential target following the deal. &#8220;Big Citrus&#8221; is a 324-pound mountain with rare movement skills for a big guy. He battled some lower-body injuries last year and doesn&#8217;t provide much upside to rush the passer, but that&#8217;s a strong consideration. Jacksonville has three third-round picks.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">Extending into Saturday, Cincinnati&#8217;s Dontay Corleone could be worth a look. Corleone battled blood clots in college, so his medicals won&#8217;t be for everyone, but he&#8217;s absolutely a stout, hard-to-move force in the run game. Corleone&#8217;s complete lack of a first step is why he&#8217;ll likely be drafted in the final three rounds.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">Jacksonville <a href=\"https:\/\/blackandteal.com\/ruke-orhorhoro-trade-may-have-changed-jaguars-nfl-draft-strategy-maason-smith\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">put itself in a more flexible draft position by acquiring Orhorhoro<\/a>, but I expect them to address the position at some point with one of 11 total selections. Remember, Gladstone&#8217;s roots come from the LA Rams &#8212; a team that has invested several mid-round picks into defensive tackles in recent years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow blackandteal.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=blackandteal.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was no greater position of need for the Jacksonville Jaguars than defensive tackle ahead of the 2026&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060],"tags":[7,212,125,2401,213,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-869441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jacksonville","10":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","11":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","12":"tag-jaguars","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116427861101940454","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}