Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) runs on the field during the first organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Monday, May 19, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars' Defense Making Early Strides

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated May 23, 2025 3:00 PM ET

For the Jacksonville Jaguars to have a successful 2025 season, they will need their defense to make an even bigger leap than their offense.

The Jaguars' defense was among the very worst in the entire NFL a year ago, and the Jaguars spent plenty of resources in free agency and the draft on ensuring they could fix that quickly.

And to their credit, it certainly appears as if the Jaguars' defense has been meeting the early test so far.

The defense had a far better day in the first OTA practice of the season earlier this week, forcing several turnovers and overall simply having an effective day against new head coach Liam Coen's offense.

“I actually thought they did some really good things today. I thought just from a communication standpoint, punching the ball out. Doing it in the right way, though. We had a couple of guys trying to be intentional about getting the ball out and getting their hands on the football, something that we’re actively trying to be intentional about this whole offseason," Coen said after the Jaguars' first OTA practice.

New defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile is already looking to put his mark on the unit, which is led by Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, Tyson Campbell, Foye Oluokun and others.

While the unit still has plenty of tests they still have to pass along the way, they at least are making a good first impression on the grass and have begun to build some momentum for the future.

"I thought the defensive staff has done a great job of communicating that in the meeting settings, bringing it out to the practice field. I thought they did a nice job setting the line of scrimmage, playing with length on the D-line. The ball was out," Coen said.

"I mean, the ball was on the ground too many times for us offensively, but hey, on the flipside of it, that’s the first time as a head coach you have to be very neutral in those moments where I’m kind of ticked off that the ball is on the ground from an offensive standpoint. But ultimately, man, the defense did a nice job of getting the ball out today for us.”