It's well-established that Jacksonville Jaguars edge defender Josh Hines-Allen is among the best at his position in the league. He had another elite season in 2025, with a total of 95 pressures, according to PFF, the second-most among his position group, behind just Aidan Hutchinson.
Gordon McGuiness recently ranked the top 32 edge defenders for Pro Football Focus, and Hines-Allen not only made the list, but came in at No. 5.
"While his ceiling is a little bit below the first four names on this list, Hines-Allen is still a force to be reckoned with off the edge," McGuiness said. "He has produced a PFF grade above 80.0 in four straight seasons, and he’s compiled 75 or more pressures in three of the past four. Hines-Allen is solid against the run
too, earning PFF run-defense grades above 70.0 in each of the past four years."
As good as Hines-Allen already was in 2025, he still is working on improving even more for 2026.
"[F]or me, it's just to emphasize on what can I do better going into this year and that's getting off the ball faster or working my hands better on the top of the rush or if they get the jump sets, being able to defeat the blocker," he said after training camp last week. "So that's what I'm focusing on right now and it's a good start so far."
He also seemingly has a lofty goal for himself: leading the NFL in sacks. He already set the franchise record for most career sacks by a Jaguars player last season, and has 61 total sacks through his career. But being the league sack leader is an accomplishment he hasn't had yet, and former teammate Calais Campbell thinks 2026 could be his year.
"I told you, why not shoot for the top every year?" Hines-Allen said. "And so for me. I didn't get it this year, I didn't get it yet, so that's kind of my mentality until I'm done playing football."
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: PFF ranks Josh Hines-Allen among NFL's elite edge defenders
