As they sought to get bigger and more athletic on the defensive line, the Atlanta Falcons traded Ruke Orhorhoro to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. In exchange for him, they got Maason Smith, a player who is a better fit for DL coach Nate Ollie's system and has been more productive this season.
The belief was that a scenery change would help Orhorhoro unlock his potential, but the third-year DT has underwhelmed this season. The Falcons' new regime (that didn't draft him) recognized this guy was a sinking ship, and decided to pull the plug sooner than expected, but they were right to.
What's crazy at the time is that Atlanta was believed to have lost this trade. So much for those narratives. Even Jags DC Anthony Campanile, who's one of the best defensive minds in football, couldn't get the best out of his versatility--but the Ruke hype has now reached an all-time low.
During the trade deadline, Jacksonville's biggest need was DT, and James Gladstone got aggressive in filling it. The Jags traded a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-rounder in exchange for Philadelphia Eagles star DT Jordan Davis and a 2028 sixth-round pick for Davon Godchaux.
So if you needed any other reminders of the heist Ian Cunningham pulled off, even the Jaguars are admitting this was a mistake. After Davon Hamilton's injury, he was supposedly being given a chance to shine, but that was short-lived.
The Jaguars have recognized that trading for ex-Falcon Ruke Orhorhoro was a failure
While the Jags are going all-in on a Super Bowl with their window open, being that aggressive to add DT help is a sign they don't have faith in Ruke Orhorhoro. They overpaid for Davis too, and they wouldn't have got him and Godchaux if they felt comfortable sticking with the DL room they had.
The 25-year-old is now going to be buried on their depth chart between Davis, Godchaux, and Arik Armstead, so his days of seeing 30-40 snaps are over. At this point, he isn't much more than a rotational piece for a much more talented defensive tackle room and his playing time will drop off.
Let's remember Terry Fontenot used a second-round pick on this guy because of tools and potential, drafting him over guys like Braden Fiske and Cooper DeJean to do so. And Atlanta traded up for him, yet a second team is phasing him out of the gameplan--so he's teetering on real draft bust territory.
When he came into the NFL, Orhorhoro was supposed to be this elite run defender, yet that has never come to fruition. According to Pro Football Focus, his 43.2 run defense grade ranks 98th out of 125 qualified interior defenders, though he has displayed some upside as a pass-rusher this season.
Meanwhile, Maason Smith has been awesome for the Dirty Birds. According to ESPN research, Smith's 27% pass-rush win rate is the second-highest among all defensive tackles only behind Alim McNeil. So for those following at home, he has a higher pass-rush win rate than Jeffery Simmons, the guy the Bears just traded two first-round picks for.
Ian Cunningham has made his fair share of successful trades as the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, but trading Ruke Orhorhoro when he did for what he got is looking better and better--especially now that the Jaguars were desperate to add additional DT help just eight months later.
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