JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s hard to call 2024 anything but a disappointment for Arik Armstead.
The Jaguars signed Armstead to a three-year, $43.5 million contract, however, it wasn’t enough to find his way into the starting lineup as Armstead started just one game for the Jaguars.
In large part, his lack of playtime and success can be attributed to the strange decision from the coaching staff to play Armstead at defensive end, despite his well-documented success along the interior.
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To add insult to injury, the Jaguars fielded the league’s worst interior pass-rush, the area many thought Armstead was brought in to remedy.
Despite the Jaguars signing one of the league’s premier defensive tackles, not much really changed.
Luckily, the new Jaguars’ staff seems intent on letting Armstead move back inside, signing Emmanuel Ogbah to be the team’s rotational pass-rusher in his place, along with the selection of Auburn’s Jalen McLeod.
Unsurprisingly, Armstead performed much better inside than outside last season. According to NextGenStats, Armstead boasted a 10.5% pressure rate inside compared to his 8.3% at defensive end.
His 10.5% pressure rate inside ranked pretty favorably and was comparable to both the Chiefs’ Chris Jones (10.6%) and the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (9.6%), both of whom are multi-time All-Pros.
As the season went on, Armstead looked to become more comfortable. From Week 10 on, Armstead was just as productive as the Jaguars’ two starting defensive ends, Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker.
Despite far fewer snaps, Armstead (24) fell just one pressure shy of Walker (25) and two shy of Hines-Allen (26). His 13.7% pressure rate over the last nine weeks led the team, as did Armstead’s 16.2% pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.
With a new defensive system, the transition back inside, and the opportunity for far more snaps, Arik Armstead has the ability to re-cement himself among the NFL’s best defensive tackles.
His hot streak to end the season might just continue into 2025, especially now that he has Walker and Hines-Allen beside him rather than in front of him.
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