Jaguars' Doug Costin Looks to Build Upon Impressive Rookie Season

Doug Costin entered the league as an undrafted free agent but quickly upped his game and carved out a starting role.

For the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars, the Sundays were more or less a youth movement playing out over four quarters. In a year where fewer and fewer players got chances due to the extenuating circumstances of the league's season, the Jaguars were an exception. 

The youngest roster in the NFL last season, the Jaguars led the league in snaps played by rookies in 2020. A number of those rookies have made it clear they can be important pieces toward Jacksonville's rebuild. A number of those rookies did so while entering the league as undrafted free agents, defeating the odds and seizing their rare opportunity. 

Among those who did so was defensive tackle Doug Costin, who has now given himself a chance to build upon an extremely successful rookie season.

"It honestly felt amazing. At that moment it felt like a childhood dream that I always had," Costin told JaguarReport about making his first NFL play. 

"I always telling myself I'm gonna be in the NFL one day, I'm gonna make plays and you know, making that play, I kind of had to like pinch myself a little bit like wow, I really just did this."

Costin came to the Jaguars following a productive four years at Miami University. Costin put together a track record that featured 16.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss, showing off the playmaking ability that would eventually land him a role with the Jaguars.

How exactly did Costin end up with the Jaguars? As he tells it, a major draw to Jacksonville was Jason Rebrovich, the Jaguars' defensive line coach over the last two seasons. The two developed a relationship after Costin's pro day, and that relationship eventually saw Costin land in Jacksonville. 

"He just felt like a down to earth person," Costin said. "He didn't really give me any B.S. He kind of told me how it was and what I need to do."

"I felt like it would have been good if I came down here and worked hard because I feel like he understood what I wanted to do and I understood what he wanted for me at the same time."

Considering Jacksonville's dwindling numbers at defensive tackle during the early portions of training camp, Costin had a great chance to make a name for himself during the team's first practices of 2020 — an opportunity he took full advantage of.

During the training camp practices in the blistering Florida heat, one could hear the moniker "Dougy" consistently, his teammates and coaches pushing the young, hustling rookie. It was little surprise that Costin ended up as one of the 14 rookies to make Jacksonville's initial 53-man roster considering his flashes throughout camp, but there is a reason Costin was as impressive as he was in practice. 

To make the roster, Costin would have to do so without having the benefits of being a draft pick or having a preseason to show what he could do. The odds were stacked, but they were odds he was cognizant of. 

"Each practice, I made it kind of like a preseason game in my eyes. I wanted to show what I could do every time I was on the field," Costin said. "So I just saw it as treat every day like it was like its own personal little preseason game and just show what I can do every day."

Throughout the season, Jacksonville's coaches lauded Costin's positional flexibility along the interior of the defensive line and strength against the run, each of which helped him earn more and more snaps. 

His first appearance in the regular season came in Week 4 against the Bengals. Costin played 30 snaps, recording two tackles and a tackle for loss in the process. He would then become a consistent piece of the team's defensive tackle rotation for the next month. 

After a few more games of seeing Costin in a backup role, the Jaguars decided it was time to expand his responsibilities. His first start came in Week 9 against the Houston Texans, replacing former first-round pick Taven Bryan in the lineup. 

The reviews for Costin's first NFL start were similar to the ones he was given following training camp. In short, the Jaguars really liked what they got from the undrafted rookie.

"I definitely love what I saw from him. I saw a player that was able to make plays, play square to the football, had good control over the line of scrimmage," Former Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said following the Texans game.

"For a guy starting his first game, I thought he played well. He’s been productive, we’ve seen that. I think with the amount of snaps, we still had the same production, which is good."

Costin would miss Week 10 due to a concussion but started every single game for the Jaguars from that point on. He was a constant fixture in the middle of the defensive line, giving the Jaguars a noticeable boost in playmaking ability,

On a roster filled with star rookies such as James Robinson, Laviska Shenault, CJ Henderson, and others, Costin was arguably the team's most consistent rookie performer outside of Robinson. 

He finished as Pro Football Focus' third-highest graded rookie defensive tackle. Considering there were 20 defensive tackles drafted, and the fact that he wasn't one of them, it is clear that Costin did more than surpass expectations. He reset the standard for rookie undrafted free agents along the defensive line, at least in Jacksonville. 

Costin ended his rookie year with 32 tackles, three tackles for loss, seven pressures, and was credited with 13 "stops" by PFF. For a player who didn't get a preseason to show what he could do, he surpassed the odds. For a player who didn't have a draft pick attached to his name, he played like a defender who was more than deserving of being a part of Jacksonville's future.

"Just priding myself on being a run defender, being the guy to clog up holes and keep linebackers free," Costin said. "If they are making plays, that means I am doing my job and making their jobs easier, and for others on the defensive line as well."

Now, Costin will have to build upon what he did as a rookie. With a new coaching staff and regime in Jacksonville, slates have been completely reset. Costin will once again have to prove his mettle and worth along the defensive line. 

But if 2020 is any indication, he will have zero problems doing so. He beat the odds before, after all.