NFL coaches, scouts, and executives no longer have Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive end Josh Hines-Allen ranked among the 10 best edge rushers heading into the 2025 season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently spoke to execs, coaches, and scouts across the NFL to determine who the “league’s true insiders” view as the top edge rushers.
Last offseason, Hines-Allen came in at No. 8 in these rankings. But this time around, he wasn’t even in the secondary ‘Honorable Mention’ category either, but rather, Hines-Allen was mentioned among a handful of players who received some top 10 votes.
“The overall weakness of the Jags defense — which finished last in pass rush win rate — helped prevent Hines-Allen from returning to the top 10,” wrote ESPN.
Hines-Allen’s production in 2024 took a step back compared to his 2023 season. He went from totaling 17.5 sacks and 90 pressures to eight sacks and 63 pressures this past season, according to PFF.
However, relative to his position group, Hines-Allen was still highly productive. His 63 pressures were tied for the 10th most last season, while he was also 17th in pass rush win rate.
One noticeable change for Hines-Allen heading into the 2025 season is that he is back to his more natural playing weight. Former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen had Hines-Allen and other defenders bulk up last season.
“I was 285,” Hines-Allen said of his playing weight last season. “I was much bigger. My mindset was always to be as dominant but it was, obviously, holding a little bit more weight puts a little more wear and tear on the body.
“It was a lot. Too much. Again, learned to adapt, have know what works best for you, something I tried, and something I’m like, alright, probably don’t want to do that again. So we’re working on maintaining a good goal for me this year and put some good tape out there.”
Hines-Allen also added that he was getting “banged up a lot more” in 2024 as well.
Hines-Allen’s production returning to where it was in 2023 will obviously provide the Jaguars’ defensive front with a big boost, but he needs more help around him as well. As productive as he and Travon Walker were last season, as a collective unit, the Jaguars ranked 32nd in ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen no longer top 10 DE in NFL execs, coaches 2025 rankings
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
