What Have the Jaguars Seen in Rookie DL Tyler Lacy and Raymond Vohasek?

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach Brentson Buckner tells it how it is. 

And when it comes to the case of fourth-round rookie defensive lineman Tyler Lacy, Buckner can't help but be excited by what he saw at Oklahoma State. What he saw was a skill-set that the Jaguars desperately needed on their depth chart, but one that is not commonly found in today's college football game. 

"Tyler Lacy was a big guy who played a small guy position in college. He was a big body, 280-pound guy that played 4-3 defensive end. Which I look at as like Oh, that's perfect," Buckner said at the end of the offseason program. 

"Because you don't draft 3-4 defensive ends. There are none in college. You see that body type, that athleticism, and you just imagine. Put 10 more pounds on him and don't let him lose the athleticism, then what you got. And that's what stood out."

Lacy, 6-foot-4, 279 pounds, started 44 games for Oklahoma State over the last four seasons, recording 113 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 11.5 tackles, three forced fumbles, and four pass deflections in that span.

Lacy missed three games with an ankle injury in 2019 but started 10 games, recording 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass deflections.

Lacy started 11 games in 2020, recording 32 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks, earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

Lacy started 14 games in 2021, recording 34 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pass deflection, again earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

Lacy finished his career with nine starts in 2022 after missing four games due to an ankle injury, recording 27 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one pass deflection.

Lacy did all of this while wearing multiple hats for Oklahoma State's defense. For a Jaguars defense that wanted to add more versatile defensive linemen, the well-traveled Lacy made perfect sense.

"Because if you go watch this film at Oklahoma State, he made plays on the edge that were phenomenal for big guys. And when they moved him inside, his hands and his power when he played inside, it wasn't a weak link," Buckner said. "So I was just like, that's what we're looking for in our 3-4 defensive ends. You want the guys like Roy Robertson-Harris that can be outside But when they move inside, you don't lose things. You actually gain some athleticism because they are naturally outside guys."

Lacy will have to earn his snaps in the rotation considering the Jaguars already have veterans like DaVon Hamilton, Foley Fatukasi, Roy Robertson-Harrison, Adam Gotsis, and others already set to play meaningful roles. But for a rookie on an ascending team, the versatile and physical Lacy is a player the Jguars will surely keep their eyes on as he develops.

"So Tyler is a physical guy who plays hard. You know, the only thing I always mess with him is like you're not in the Big 12 now, you got real offensive lineman you got to play against. But the physical part of the game, don't worry about him," Buckner said. 

"He's not scared to stick his face in the fan. It is just now just honing him in on the footwork and how tight spaces are gonna be in there. I think he's gonna be a hell of a football player."

Lacy wasn't the only rookie defensive lineman the Jaguars added in the draft. After selecting Lacy early on Day 3, the Jaguars used one of their final picks onNorth Carolina defensive lineman Raymond Vohasek with the No. 227 pick in the seventh round.

Vohasek started 18 games over the last two years, including five starts in 2022. He was named honorable mention All-ACC in 2021 after finishing the year with 38 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three pass breakups.

"Well, for me I just watched him in the drills and again, he had good footwork. He has real good foot quickness," Buckner said. "What I'm trying to get him to understand is you don't have to play big in this league. You are 6'1", 6-foot. Make everybody come down to your level. You got built-in leverage. When you break the huddle, you already got low pad level. Stay there and make the offensive linemen come down to you and live in that world."

Vohasek didn't participate fully in the offseason program due to a minor injury, but the seventh-round nose tackle did make an impression on Buckner once he got in the building. 

Considering the layers of the Jaguars' scheme and just how much Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell wants to throw at offenses, it would be natural for any rookie to struggle with how much information is being thrown at them at once. Vohasek, however, has thrived in this regard.

"And so the thing since he has been with me is just his ability to learn and regurgitate information. Because that's what you really worry about with most rookies, how can they handle the input with our, Dr. Frankenstein as our defensive coordinator who throws the whole playbook at them because he wants to stress them out mentally," Buckner said. 

"He's been one of the best as a rookie I've been around at regurgitating and understanding and getting a feel for it. So I'm just happy. I want to see him get healthy and see how can take it out to the field. Because he's not afraid. He plays hard and you can't be soft with a nickname vanilla gorilla. You just can't be. There's got to be some toughness in there somewhere."