3 things to know about new Jaguars' DT Ruke Orhorhoro
· Yahoo Sports
The Jacksonville Jaguars have made a player-for-player trade, sending defensive tackle Maason Smith to the Falcons in return for defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro.
After examining why the Jaguars moved on from Smith, let's take a closer look at three things to know about Orhorhoro.
Visit betsport.cv for more information.
Ruke Orhorhoro's fit with the Jacksonville Jaguars
One of the more pressing needs that the Jaguars have this offseason is at the defensive tackle position, specifically generating a more consistent pass rush. Particularly late in the season, the Jaguars struggled to get after the quarterback from the interior defensive line.
Adding Orhorhoro to the mix doesn't completely solve that issue by any means, but he does seem to give the Jaguars more pass rush juice than Smith, who was inactive for Jacksonville's final three games of the 2025 season, including the playoff game against Buffalo.
Last season, Orhorhoro, who primarily was on the field for passing downs, generated 30 pressures and four sacks. Among 121 defensive tackles, he ranked tied for 51st in PFF's pass rush productivity metric.
For comparison's sake, Smith had 11 pressures and no sacks across 191 pass rush snaps. He would also rank 97th in pass rush productivity, which is an efficiency metric.
New opportunities for Maason Smith and Ruke Orhorhoro
Smith was the 45th overall pick by Jacksonville in the 2024 NFL draft. Not long before Smith was taken, Orhorhoro came off the board in that same draft class at 35th overall.
At Clemson in 2023, Orhorhoro was a highly productive pass rusher, ranking tied for 18th among his position group in pass rush productivity, along with totaling the 31st most pressures, despite seeing only 236 pass rush snaps that year.
This is one of those trades that provides a change of scenery for two players who were drafted by GMs who are no longer running their now-former teams.
Insight into Ruke Orhorhoro's game
For some added insight into what Orhorhoro can add to the Jaguars, here is what Matt Urben, the managing editor of Falcons Wire, had to say:
"The Falcons traded up to get Orhorhoro with the 35th overall pick back when Jimmy Lake was still the defensive coordinator. The former Clemson standout barely played as a rookie but saw his role increase in 2025. Despite making strides last season, Falcons defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus (a fourth-round pick in 2024) essentially took Orhorhoro's spot. Dorlus recorded 8.5 sacks last season and has a promising future, while Orhorhoro should benefit from a fresh start in Jacksonville."
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Why Jaguars traded for Falcons DT Ruke Orhorhoro