Jaguars GM encouraged by Dante Fowler recovery

The Jacksonville Jaguars have completed their first wave of free agency and now turn their to the second wave of players like Robert Ayers and Prince Amukamara, but general manager Dave Caldwell reminded people at his press conference yesterday to not forget about the team's No. 3 overall draft pick from last year, Dante Fowler Jr.

"Let's not forget we used a third pick on Dante Fowler, Jr. last year who is a LEO. In our scheme only one LEO can play on the field at a time, especially in base packages. So we need some depth there behind Dante, and he's doing extremely well," Caldwell said when asked about the importance of adding an edge rusher in the free agency period.

Fowler was someone who was pegged for the Jaguars for a long time in the 2015 NFL Draft and eventually ended up being the pick. Unfortunately for Fowler and the Jaguars however, he tore his ACL in the first day of rookie minicamp and missed the entire 2015 season. He's expected to make a full recover and be ready to go by the start of training camp, but there's still some concern he may not be 100 percent.

"I saw a video of him with our trainer out on the field yesterday running. I was extremely encouraged by what I saw on the video," Caldwell added. "He looks good, and he's working hard. We expect him to be a major factor for us next year."

As it stands, even if the team ends up signing someone like Robert Ayers, Fowler is slotted to be the team's starting LEO end in their base packages, but he also has the ability to move around, inside and even rush the passer standing up.