Jaguars' Dennis Gardeck Receives Praise from Liam Coen

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been active in free agency following the NFL Draft over a month ago, signing several players on the defensive side of the ball.

After the draft, the Jaguars signed veteran defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who had previously spent the last five seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Then, early this month, the team brought back Dawuane Smoot on a one-year deal after he spent last season with the Buffalo Bills following seven long years in Jacksonville.

General manager James Gladstone did not end there, bringing on former Arizona Cardinals standout linebacker Dennis Gardeck on a one-year deal. The former special teams captain is coming off a torn ACL last season after leading the Cardinals in sacks early in. All of a sudden, the Jaguars have added more experience and production to critical areas of their defense and special teams unit.

Four coaches will benefit from these signings: defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, defensive line coach Matt Edwards, linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, and special teams coordinator Heath Farwell. Already, there is excitement with the addition of Gardeck as he is expected to provide immense value on special teams, but will have to compete for a spot on the roster.

One coach exhibited enthusiasm and that coach was Liam Coen, who has had experience coaching against Gardeck during his time with the Los Angeles Rams.

"Yeah, just a ton of respect for the player competing against him two times a year in L.A. since 2018," Coen said. "Every time we would go play the Arizona Cardinals, he was on the game-wrecker board."

Before the Rams played the Cardinals during the regular season, Coen said the team would always showcase the game wreckers to his players and Gardeck was a consistent presence on the board.

"We would always kind of introduce the game wreckers to the players. And he was on there, whether it was originally for special teams, and then also for rushing the passer and creating some disruption," the Jaguars head coach explained. "It just gives us somebody a little bit different kind of style rusher, special teams demon."

Coen noted Gardeck's accolades during his time in Arizona, including being the special teams captain and his three sacks against Los Angeles in Week 2 of last season, explaining that not many players can do what he did.

"Not sure how many people did that this past season, but he did and had an interception in the following game. So you're just looking at continuing to find guys that can disrupt the game in a specific way, whether it's in the DPR or on special teams.”

Gardeck's addition should give the Jaguars multiple ways of using their pass rush room as they continue to add depth and experience to a room that sorely lacked it in 2024.

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