The Jaguars’ Weight War: Josh Hines-Allen and Crew Shrink to Get Mean in 2025

Look, I get it. We’ve all been there. One year you’re told “put on the mass,” and next year it feels like someone yelled “Slim down or die trying.” Welcome to Jacksonville Jaguars’ offseason chaos, where defensive stars Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker just went on what might be the NFL’s most dramatic weight rollercoaster since that time somebody tried to sell a treadmill on an infomercial.

Josh Hines-Allen—yes, that seven-year NFL pro known mostly for wrecking quarterbacks and not his dieting routine—hit an offseason high weight in 2024, clocking in at a massive 285 pounds. This wasn’t just a personal choice. No, sir. It was the brainchild of Ryan Nielsen, then the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator, whose offseason mantra was basically “mass kicks ass.” Catchy, right? Like a cool tattoo you regret.

But guess what? The joke was on them. Because when you bulk up like a linebacker preparing for a Taco Bell buffet contest, your knees, ankles, and pretty much every joint not made of steel start sending you invoices. And offensively? The Jaguars defense looked like it had been dipped in molasses. They ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams in total defense in 2024, allowing nearly 390 yards per game. They gave up 26 points per game, tied for second-worst in the league. To top it off, the takeaways? A pitiful nine all season. Fans were left wondering if the defense was sponsored by a nap company.

Hines-Allen himself wasn’t buying the “add more mass” gospel by the end of 2024. He clocked only eight sacks, a drop from his career-best of 17.5 the previous year. Not exactly a “mass gained, sacks gained” scenario. According to his own words, the extra weight was a pain—a literal pain—and his body wasn’t playing ball.

“Holding a little bit more weight kind of puts a little bit more wear and tear on the body,” he admitted. “It was a lot. Too much.” So now, like a heavyweight boxer deciding to drop to middleweight, Josh is back down to something slimmer, fresher, zippier — and yes, he says he still hits 20 mph during drills. Let that sink in. That’s faster than your Wi-Fi on a good day.

And it’s not just Josh’s tale of weight loss drama. Linebacker Devin Lloyd shed 15 pounds, sliding from 255 down to 240. Defensive end Travon Walker (rookie and No. 1 overall pick from 2022) tweaked his body mass index enough to make dietitians and trainers fist bump. Veterans Arik Armstead, Foye Oluokun, and DaVon Hamilton also trimmed down. This massive jigsaw puzzle of skinnying down is no accident. The new coaching staff has made it clear: bulk and it’s goodbye burst, goodbye fatigue resistance.

Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Liam Coen—freshly charged with the daunting task of fixing this defense—put it bluntly: last year’s “mass is king” philosophy was a misguided mess.

“I know that they’d put some weight on in order to play some of the schemes, structures that they were playing,” Coen said. “That’s just anybody’s prerogative. That’s the way they wanted to do it. Ultimately, just kind of evaluating it and talking to some of the players and trying to get them back down a little bit to maybe where they’d been when they’d had better years or been a little bit more productive. Definitely better for those guys to feel fresh.”

Freshness is the new sexy, apparently. Which makes sense, because defense requires stamina, speed, and bursts. Not carrying around a portable anvil for no reason.

Devin Lloyd summed it up best, sounding like a guy who’s finally figured out how to wear jeans that don’t squeeze: “It’s a lot easier, a lot more natural. For me, the cardio aspect of it was the biggest deal. You’re running all day, and after like four or five plays, you get tired. Now you can be a little more prolonged with your endurance.” Bravo, sir. Endurance beats bulk every time.

Now, let’s talk about the elephant—or should I say the 285-pound grizzly bear—in the room. The Jaguars’ front office did a complete housecleaning after that 4-13 nightmare year. Owner Shad Khan pulled the trigger on head coach Doug Pederson, GM Trent Baalke, and yes, defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. The latter’s “mass kicks ass” motto got tossed faster than a bad pizza slice. The new regime, led by GM James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen, made a swift decision: less weight, more speed, and actually, maybe some wins.

The benefits? Well, they’re obvious and deeply needed. A defense with speed and stamina can keep up with the breakneck pace of today’s NFL offenses. No more gasping after a few plays. No more looking like you need a hospital ward behind the sidelines. And for Hines-Allen, this is personal. He’s chasing records. Already sitting at 53 career sacks, he’s two behind Tony Brackens’ franchise record from 2003. With a fresh body and a sharper focus, he’s got his sights set on All-Pro honors, Defensive Player of the Year, and smashing that franchise sack record into oblivion.

He puts it in plain terms: “I can’t go into another season thinking about my weight. You know what I mean? That’s why this year, coming back in that mindset and that weight class that I feel like I need to be, and it’s dominant, it’s fast, can move. I don’t want to get off the field. … Get out, get a squirt of water, come back in and play four or five plays full speed and take over games. That’s my mentality, that’s the mindset and that’s the goal at the end of the day.” Words to live and sack by.

The Jaguars’ defensive makeover is a cautionary tale in modern football’s obsession with size. Bigger isn’t always better, and sometimes you have to love the body you’re in — lighter, faster, and meaner than ever.

So buckle up. The Jaguars might just be sneaking up behind the NFL’s big guns this season, fueled by lighter frames and heavy ambitions. And if Josh Hines-Allen hits 20 mph while chasing quarterbacks, maybe the phrase “mass kicks ass” will be replaced with “speed slays.”