Jaguars' Liam Coen addresses Maason Smith for Ruke Orhorhoro trade

With offseason programs underway for the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Liam Coen met with the media on Monday and addressed the Maason Smith for Ruke Orhorhoro trade.

Smith, a second-round pick by the Jaguars in 2024, was a regular member of the Jaguars' rotation last season for much of the year. But over the last month of the season, the emergence of Matt Dickerson made Smith's role non-existent as he was inactive for the Jaguars' final four games.

"It wasn't necessarily anything that didn't click," Coen said about Smith. "I have a lot of respect for Maason Smith. I hope he has a heck of a career. He did nothing but what we asked him to do from a work ethic standpoint to doing the right things and what we asked of him."

Orhorhoro was also taken in the second round of the 2024 draft. After having a relatively small role as a rookie, Orhohoro played 599 snaps in 2025, totaling 30 pressures and four sacks.

Out of 121 eligible defensive tackles, Orhorhoro ranked tied for 51st in PFF's pass rush productivity metric, a formula that combines sacks and pressures relative to a defender's pass rush opportunities. Smith ranked 97th in this category.

"We felt like we had an opportunity to potentially get an ascending player that can provide a little bit in the rush," Coen said of Orhorhoro. "It's hard to find big men that can move like that on the interior part of your defense without giving up in the run game. That's something we want to continue to be top-notch at, which we were in the NFL this past season, but something we want to look at, and Ruke gives us an opportunity -- a big man that can move and get in the rush plan as well, and showed the ability to get after the quarterback a little bit so that was something that we felt like was going to fit with us."

The addition of Orhorhoro to the Jaguars' defensive front shouldn't stop GM James Gladstone from continuing to add to this unit in the draft. But his presence does provide some additional pass rush upside, which the Jaguars very much need from the defensive tackle position.