Why Doug Pederson Expects Jeremiah Ledbetter To Step Up After Injuries on Jaguars’ Defensive Line

The Jaguars have caught a case of the injury bug lately as multiple players across the roster have gone down to injuries. The list includes Anton Harrison, Cooper Hodges, Josh Wells and Antonio Johnson among others.

The plague has hit especially hard on the defensive line where Folorunso Fatukasi and now DaVon Hamilton are facing their own injuries. Fatukasi was last seen in a walking boot this past week, however, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is hopeful for a quick return for big No. 94.

“Foley is doing good, we kept him in a boot for precautionary reasons last week, should hopefully get him out of that boot this week and get him going again, " said Pederson on Monday.

Hamilton’s status is a bit tricker. It was recently announced that Hamilton is facing a non-football related back injury and his status going forward is unknown.

Pederson updated Hamilton’s injury, “he’s still being monitored by the medical professionals in town and just making sure that he’s 100%. I got a text message, just to update you on that, I got a text message this morning that he’s doing much better and feeling better so he’s definitely on the road to recovery.”

He went on to add, “I haven’t talked to the doctors; I’m not going to speculate on a timetable with him at this time.”

With Fatukasi being slowly worked back into rotation and the unknown timetable for Hamilton, the Jaguars will look to Jeremiah Ledbetter and Adam Gotsis for relief for the time being.

Gotsis has been a staple of the Jaguars rotation on the inside, however, Ledbetter has made the most of his opportunities during training camp and in the preseason.

Drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2017 NFL Draft, Ledbetter has bounced around the league before finding a home with Jacksonville in 2022. He enters his second year now with the team and looks to be turning a corner.

Through two preseason games, Jeremiah Ledbetter has been the team’s top defensive player according to Pro Football Focus, receiving a grade of 93.4. He was also highly thought of in run defense, being awarded a 93.4 against the run as well.

On Saturday, against his former Lions, it was his pass rush skills that caught the attention of fans. He was able to get to the quarterback multiple times, displaying his pass rush skills. Ledbetter has a team-best seven pressures and two sacks on just 27 pass rush snaps thus far into preseason.

The Jaguars will need that level of production to now continue with the uncertain status of Hamilton. Pederson is excited for Ledbetter’s opportunity. 

“Obviously, Jeremiah Ledbetter and Adam Gotsis are two guys that we have as role players and as backup guys. We got a couple of guys that are on the roster that can give us some really good time in DaVon’s absence, however long that’s going to be.”

The Jaguars now host the Miami Dolphins this Saturday in what will be their final preseason matchup. With many players will be vying for their spot on the roster, Ledbetter will get his opportunity for more playing time and the potential to start on the defensive line for the first time in his career Week one if Hamilton still is yet to return.