Jaguars Defensive Star Gives the Big Reason Why He Came to Duval

Defensive lineman Arik Armstead a huge acquisition for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. He recently spoke about why the Jaguars were the right choice.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead (91) walks to be interviewed after a combined NFL football training camp session between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars added a huge piece to their defensive line this offseason when they signed defensive tackle Arik Armstead. Armstead can play all over the defensive line, and has -- he also adds valuable leadership as a player who was part of two NFC Championship teams in San Fransisco.

Armstead chose the Jaguars, signing for three years and $51 million. The Jaguars are a team that contend for a playoff spot -- just two years ago they made the postseason and won. Last season, they were 8-3 before a complete collapse.

The potential is there, and it played a big part in why Armstead chose the Jaguars. He said that he feels the Jaguars could do big things on Tidal League's "Third and Long" show.

"I wouldn't have came here to Jacksonville if I didn't feel like we had a team that could win the Super Bowl," Armstead said. "And being here and being around the guys, I definitely see that I'm surrounded by talent. Our defensive line is stacked. All the guys up front, we're deep. And you know, in this league you need great great defensive lineman to be able to win in this league, and we definitely have that."

As for the talent and depth Armstead alluded to, he is not wrong. Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, another big offseason addition, spoke recently about the depth in the trenches.

"We've got some good, really interior players, but then some guys that can flex out and play out on the end. Different personnel groups and packages and things like that. So, it allows you the flexibility of maybe getting a little bit bigger in times when we need it," Nielson said. "We want to keep them fresh, right? And keep them on a rotation where the guys are fresh into the fourth quarter. When you do that, it's instead of playing their 40th play, maybe they're at their 20th play. So, now they're ready to go in the fourth. That's when the game's on the line, you’ve got to win it.

"So, yeah, we want to rotate. It's going to be the same as. But there's some of that, when we rotate, who's got the hot hand and all that stuff kind of fits in the personnel groupings and packages that we have. That also fits in there too. But we’ve got a good group and they’ll order to -- some guys can, and we talked a little bit earlier, flex positions, things like that, and keep them fresh into the fourth quarter."

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