Breaking down Florida's strengths, weaknesses on defensive line

The strength of a defense starts in the trenches on the defensive line, an area that will be a large one of importance for the Florida Gators this upcoming season.

The Gators showed some struggles up front last season, and On3’s JD PicKell and Andy Staples recently broke down their personnel and shared their expectations for Florida’s defensive line heading into the team’s second season under Billy Napier.

“It depends, it’s interesting because they lose Gervon Dexter to the NFL on the d-line, but I think they do feel like they’re gonna be a little deeper up front on defense,” Staples said. “Cam Jackson‘s the transfer from Memphis, he’s the nose. Caleb Banks, the transfer from Louisville, they like a lot and they’ve got some younger guys they’re moving up.”

Dexter served as Florida’s defensive stopper on the interior last season with his 6-foot-6, 312-pound frame, starting all 13 games for the Gators and recorded 55 tackles (four for loss), for quarterback hurries, a pair sacks, an interception, and a pass breakup. The Chicago Bears selected him in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 53 overall pick, but there is a chance a fresh face could replace his production.

Jackson brings similar size with him to The Swamp from Memphis, also standing at 6-foot-6, but weighing 355 pounds. He displayed similar production to Dexter last year as well in the American Athletic Conference, racking up 41 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, and one pass breakup, earning Third-Team All-AAC honors from by PFF.

Banks too brings SEC-level size to the table at tackle, but not quite the production from his two years at Louisville. But regardless, someone on the defensive line will likely have to step up for a unit that’s been lacking for quite some time.

“That’s a position group where they have needed to be better for quite some time and Gervon Dexter, as good as he was, it felt like he was just getting all of the offensive line’s attention for a lot of the time. So I think that group needs to be better,” Staples said.

Georgia freshman defensive lineman Jordan Hall recently raised some eyebrows regarding his negative comments about the Gator’s defensive line, but the unit did struggle last season generating their worst sack total since 2013 with just 21 on the season.

Florida’s defense is also tasked with replacing the linebacking duo of Ventrell Miller and Amari Burney who were also both selected in the most recent NFL Draft, as the Gators will likely lean on some new players across the board in their front seven this upcoming season.