Big Cat Country
Despite a slow burn, Maason Smith started to flash for the Jaguars down the stretch of his rookie season. Could he be in line for a breakout in 2025?
If the Jacksonville Jaguars are to make any sort of noise in 2025, they will need a handful of players to take a step forward in their development.
One name that has begun to heat up in OTAs as a potential breakout candidate is second-year defensive tackle Maason Smith.
The former LSU star started to flash his skill down the stretch of his rookie campaign as he racked up 3 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss in the last seven games in which he was active for the Jaguars last season. However, that breakout trajectory wasn’t so clear early on.
After being selected with a top 50 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, many assumed (understandably) that Smith would be a prominent piece to the defensive line rotation last season. Unfortunately, that ended up being far from the truth, as he was a designated healthy scratch in a handful of games for reasons that nobody ever quite figured out.
Rumblings of a power struggle between the former general manager and head coach might have had some validity, but now that team owner Shad Khan has finally cleaned house, it’s allowed Smith the freedom to play his brand of football as he is looking to showcase his ability for this new regime.
What are your expectations for Smith in 2025, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!
