Dante Fowler was the first defensive player taken in the 2015 NFL Draft to a team that lacked pass rushers and needed immediate help. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, he went down in his very first practice in rookie mini-camp last year with a season-ending knee injury.
Ever since head coach Gus Bradley arrived, the left defensive end position has been a glaring hole. They have yet to find a player that they can depend on to get adequate production from that spot. They tried to go with a veteran out of the gate that has played in the defense in Chris Clemons, but he was very much underwhelming with 11 sacks since 2014 when he joined the team and was let go this off-season.
Now, Fowler is fully healthy and ready to go. Reports out of OTAs have been glowing. Finally, it looks like the Jaguars may have finally found their guy at this position.
Why Expectations for Dante Fowler Need To Be Realistic in 2016
Fowler is coming into 2016 having not played a single snap in the NFL. He’s essentially a rookie this season. Last year, he was fortunate enough to travel with the team and be with the rest of his teammates in the film room and learn. In doing so, he got some very valuable experience last season and could help with the culture-shock rookies go through in their first season.
Despite that valuable experience, he’s still coming into this season with no in-game snaps under his belt. First year pass rushers don’t generally bring great production as there is a steep learning curve this early on in their careers. For example, some of the more recent highly drafted pass rushers such as Vic Beasley, Dee Ford, and even Khalil Mack had four sacks or less in their rookie years.
Now, that doesn’t mean he can’t make a large impact right away while bringing very good production this season. With the addition of Malik Jackson and Myles Jack who will both garner attention, it could cause some great opportunities for Fowler. Coming off a torn ACL while being the focal outside pass rusher at his position with very little proven depth is working against him though. He has had plenty of time to recover and all indications are that his explosiveness and athleticism are back and the coaching staff believes he’s been even more impressive than what they had expected.
Fowler is an impressive talent. He has the skills to be a guy that can come in and make a serious impact right away. The Jaguars will need him to do just that if they want to be a serious playoff contender this year. The pass rush is going to be vital in making this defense get to where it wants to be. This isn’t an ideal environment for a first year player to come into, but Dante Fowler is ready for it.
