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NFL COMBINE DEFENSIVE TACKLES FOR THE JAGUARS · Duval Daily: A Jacksonville Jaguars Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacksonville Jaguars fans welcome in to do vault daily presented by Gen Jack dot com.
• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Jordan Luda.
• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for being here Wednesday February 25th
• 0:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: little car troubles this morning.
• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we're working on the fly here.
• 0:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're working downstairs as you can see not in the normal studio, but that is not stopping us from talking about the 2026 NFL scouting combine.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguar's top brass might not be there.
• 0:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: They will be represented, but the top brass, Liam Cohen, James Gladstone, and Company, they're not there, but they are taking notice.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: They are going to be taking notes.
• 0:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: They are going to be paying attention to what's going on.
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: their philosophy is simply that they can get better worked on at their own facility, now that they actually have their plans in place, now that they're actually working through a full-off season together, then picking up and moving everything to endie, and they're also a team that just does not want to show interest in specific players.
• 0:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: They feel like it gives them a competitive advantage to not be there.
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: and to not have 30 visits.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, that's where we're at.
• 1:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, we're getting things kicked off with the defensive linemen, tackles, edge players, tomorrow, and with linebackers with on-field workouts.
• 1:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a perfect place to start for these Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that everyone's talking about.
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: They need more interior past rush.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: They need more past rush debt on the edge.
• 1:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: They need linebacker potentially if Devon will live walks.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: All these things, very interesting for the jags here, but we're gonna focus to start on the big boys.
• 1:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: The interior deference of line defensive tackle players here at the combine, and just preview some guys that I'm gonna be watching.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: and some guys that I think Jack's fans should be watching.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: If your favorite player is not on this list, no big deal.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: If there's somebody that I have on this list, there's no guarantee the Jaguars have any interest.
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just like my vantage point.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: What I think could be interesting situations for the Jaguars in certain spots with these players.
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: When it comes to the on-field testing, what actually matters, I think what matters a lot more than on-field testing at the combine,
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: The tracking data that the Jaguars are certainly going to be looking at for these players on the field.
• 2:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it's still fun to kind of see the explosive movements, really, in some of the change of direction stuff, in some of the hoop drills and different things, hitting the bags, how violent are those hands?
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, the tape is the ultimate factor here when it comes to drafting players.
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then also for the jags and for James Gladstone, this regime, they want players who can come in.
• 2:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: and elevate their building, elevate this football team by being nothing more than themselves.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: So they want players who are all about ball, who are all about being good teammates.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that doesn't mean it's a cookie cutter type of person.
• 2:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: There can be a lot of different personality traits and personalities that fit into that ecosystem.
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: in my opinion.
• 3:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: So with all that said, let's go ahead and talk some defensive tackles.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're starting off with Peter Woods at a Clemson.
• 3:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this is a player who when I was doing some summer scouting, I thought could easily be a top five pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: His season, along with TJ Parker's along with a lot of Clemson players, didn't go quite the way a lot of folks expected.
• 3:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: I still think Peter Woods, when you look at him and when you look at his potential and also his
• 3:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: flashes in 2026.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was more consistent in 2025 than he was in 2026.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think you can say that again, about a lot of the clips and defense.
• 3:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: So is that a systematic program issue on the defense side of the ball or is that several players just not being as dialed in as they need to be?
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
• 3:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Peter Woods is a guy who a lot of people talk about his lack of length being an issue.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: And again, he's a player who I thought would be a top 10 pick at worst heading into the 2025 college football season.
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now you're talking about people having him ranked outside of the top 30 and I believe Daniel Jeremiah had him ranked at 38.
• 4:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is there an opportunity that the
• 4:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: potentially see Peter Woods fall to a spot where they would want to move up to get him.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's that strong possibility because I think his skill set is is is is is of a of a piece with some of the players that the Rams have added and I say the Rams because James Ladsom comes from the Rams on the defensive line over the last half decade.
• 4:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: not exactly the same as a Braden Fisk or a Kobe Turner, but does he have the same disruption potential?
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think so.
• 5:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And you guys incredible versatility.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is a guy that for whatever reason, Climson has moved him all over the line of scrimmage.
• 5:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have played him a lot at Edge 5 technique.
• 5:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: A lot.
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: which is really interesting.
• 5:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: They did it more in 2024 than they did in 2025 but still this guy has a lot of experience playing out on the edge a lot of experience and he's more he's not like a nose tackle right he's more of a
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Break tech, but I think he can give you knows tackle reps.
• 5:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is.
• 5:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's 310 listed at.
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see the official measurements and all that stuff.
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: But 6, 3, 3, 10, not the greatest arm length, but incredibly explosive twitchy athlete.
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: who has put up numbers.
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he has done things in college football at an extremely high level.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just that you haven't seen it as consistently.
• 5:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And really, you just didn't see it as consistently in 2025 as you would have liked for a player who was so highly touted.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: But is there a conversation where at some point, it's like, this guy can be an absolute game record for us?
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: We should move up to get him.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then there's also the conversation
• 6:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: his tape doesn't suggest to me that he should be falling on these boards around the web as much as he is.
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is there something we don't know about medical or personality or whatever that suggests that he just is a player that has a lot of inherent risk beyond just the tape.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that that's a fascinating one to watch, but I think he's going to look really good out there.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: So Peter Woods is definitely one.
• 6:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I am keeping an eye on Chris and Miller out of Georgia.
• 6:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Another one where this is a player that a lot of folks probably thought he could have been a surefire for a SRAM pick.
• 6:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: I still think he can be a first SRAM pick.
• 6:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he is kind of...
• 6:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: In my mind, built a little bit linkier, but same weight class about three, 10 is what he's listed out at Georgia.
• 7:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think we have the official measurements yet for the combine.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's see here.
• 7:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure I'm not messing up.
• 7:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's see.
• 7:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm not seeing the measurements and weigh-ins yet, so I don't think we've gotten that yet.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: That might be later today for the defensive tackles, but besides, I think Kristen Miller has good length.
• 7:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is a stout run defender, a smart run defender, somebody who...
• 7:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: at Georgia.
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you remember watching Trayvon Walker and some of the other guys, he's lined up a lot at different spots.
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: And Georgia does that.
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: They move their defensive linemen around its tongue.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think Kristen Miller has a lot of explosiveness at athleticism, good length.
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: And just the ability to potentially be a value, another player that a lot of people thought was going to be a sure fire for a surround pick, maybe top 20 pick, top 15, and now you're seeing him potentially being a second round pick, could this be a player that Jaguars are interested in getting aggressive for perhaps.
• 8:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that he does have the ability to be a stop run defender and
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: and interior penetration style player.
• 8:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that there's development that's needed a little bit when it comes to being a true past rusher, but just the traits are absolutely, really, very impressive.
• 8:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: 21 year old player, I think that he's got a very bright future ahead of him in the NFL.
• 8:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just where it is he fall to to the Jaguars want to take someone who they feel like they need to develop a little bit more as a past researcher who's a ready made run defender that's going to be fascinating.
• 8:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: There is one player on this list who really projects as that.
• 8:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: nose tackle plus like the nose tackle that also has juice like Devon Hamilton is the Jaguar's current starting nose tackle.
• 9:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: He did an incredible job helping the Jaguars be the best run defense in the NFL last year, but he doesn't provide you much juice right now.
• 9:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: He had moments early in his career where there seemed like there was more of that within him, but he isn't doing a lot of it now for the Jaguars.
• 9:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so did they look to potentially
• 9:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Add somebody who can give you juice, like a Lea Hunter, and now Lea Hunter, most people are projecting him out of Texas Tech to go in the first round now.
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's totally fair.
• 9:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's a nose tackle that has the ability to do a lot more.
• 9:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's going to test very well.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's going to look really good out there at the Combine.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I don't even know if all of these people are officially testing yet, but the guys I'm
• 9:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: At a Texas Tech, he stole the show a little bit at the senior bull.
• 9:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: He had a fantastic season for Texas Tech.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is bowling balls butcher knives type of player.
• 10:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's so big and so strong and so physical at the point of attack, but there is explosiveness.
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: There are hand moves and hand counters to get into the backfield quickly.
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: So there's a lot that Lea Hunter presents in his projection that I think the Jaguars could definitely get excited about if they're trying to go that route.
• 10:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: You probably, again, have to trade up to potentially land them.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that Lee Hunter would be probably the first, and this draft is so interesting.
• 10:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of a beauty in the eye of the Boholder thing.
• 10:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: I say Lee Hunter will probably be the first defensive tackle of the guys that we're talking about, again, Hunter, Chris and Miller.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: and Peter Woods, but Peter Woods could still go top 20.
• 10:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, a team could still say this guy's just too damn good, explosive.
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: The flashes are there.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: We just got to get more consistency out of him.
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And somebody could still take him top 20.
• 10:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Same thing, Chris and Miller, he could still go in the first round.
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think Lee Hunter is the safest projection for what he is.
• 11:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: do you want to go safe?
• 11:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do you want to swing for the fences?
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: What type of archetype do you need?
• 11:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: All these different factors are going to weigh in to how these guys come off the board.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: But Lee Hunter, another one where if he fell into the 30s, it wouldn't be surprising to me if the Jaguars were interested in moving up.
• 11:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguar is going to have the ammunition to move up.
• 11:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, they might have a different trade in the works for a veteran, so they might be sitting at 56 or even trading down or waiting till 81 to potentially land.
• 11:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: or even, you know, 88, 100 to potentially land a defense of lime and a defense of tackle.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: So there's other options as well.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: And Skylar Gil Howard Lee Hunter's teammate is more in that traditional three-tech mold undersized, but coming off a season in which there was injuries that slowed him down a little bit.
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: But...
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: You turn on the tape when he's pinning his ears back and rushing the passer, and he absolutely gets after.
• 12:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's super quick and explosive off the ball, really a good skill set in that regard, and so just bringing him up because he also played at Texas Tech, keeping those two guys together.
• 12:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the guy who I am most excited about as a three-tech for the Jaguars potentially is Grace and Halton out of Oklahoma.
• 12:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: He might be the best three tech prospect in this draft.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is incredible.
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: All the things that I said about Skylar Girl Howard are there, but there's more length.
• 12:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's more physicality at the point of attack, more violence, and more production.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Grace and Houghton was incredibly productive at Oklahoma and just a type of guy that stands out.
• 12:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's a little undersized under 300 pounds.
• 12:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think 293, but he's got 34 inch plus arms.
• 12:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: He had this past year as an interior at even of Lyman.
• 12:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: 30 pressures on 259 past rush reps, five sacks on the PFF database, which of course includes half sacks as full sacks.
• 13:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: But a guy who,
• 13:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Dominated as a past rocher and dominated as a run defender.
• 13:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's not probably going to be this dominant run defender as a like, you know, taking on double teams and things like that.
• 13:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: But somebody who went on one in run defense, he's gonna win a lot more than he's gonna lose.
• 13:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: So there's a lot to get excited about there for Grace and Halton.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And to me, he could be a target at 56.
• 13:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's that good.
• 13:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: Couple more, one is a player to keep an eye on a little bit later and then another one is a snub.
• 13:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that when it comes to Skylar Guild Howard probably in that 81-124 range, I don't think you're going before that for a Skylar Guild Howard even if you really like him.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that he's probably 81-124 range.
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ration on Benny could be in the same range out of Michigan, a player who
• 13:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think has all the traits to be a really good interior difference of Lyman who has the quickness and the technique to be an interior penetration style player, but just hasn't put it all together.
• 14:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm Michigan, you have a ton of competition, you have a ton of talent up there on the defensive front, year in and year out.
• 14:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that, for whatever reason, maybe the scheme, whatever it is, it just hasn't come together consistently as a past rusher, for racer on Benny.
• 14:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has been a good run defender.
• 14:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is, you know, over 300 pounds, I think at the senior bowl, you saw some of that past rusher ability, some of the quickness and the hand fighting.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Rachel and Benny could be a diamond in the rough that somebody gets on day three that ends up being a capable and quality contributor early on to their defensive front.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: So those are the guys I'm keeping an eye on.
• 14:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me know what you're looking at in the comment section below.
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: And if you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 14:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: We'll be talking about edge defenders later on and then line backers tomorrow morning.
• 15:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Again, really appreciate y'all tuning in.
• 15:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 15:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all have a good one.