Tyson Alualu

Tyson Alualu a potential veteran roster cut

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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While he’s undoubtedly been a disappointment considering his draft status, Tyson Alualu has managed to contribute some since 2010.

The Jacksonville Jaguars went through a rough (understatement) stretch from 2009 through 2012 under former general Gene Smith, but the new regime has managed to wash away most of the filth from that era. There are a few holdovers however, one of those being the beloved Tyson Alualu.

After providing one of the more comically confusing draft moments when he was selected by the Jaguars with the 10th overall selection, Alualu has been average at times but mostly underwhelming. He’s never really made an impact as a pass rusher, but he’s been a solid run defender and isn’t a liability along the defensive line. He has some versatility as both a big end and an interior lineman in the current scheme, but he’s effectively a replacement level player. His continued status on this roster is really representative of how bad this team has been in recent years.

John Breitenbach over at Pro Football Focus thinks this is the year Alualu finally loses the roster spot he’s managed to precariously keep for the past few years:

6. Tyson Alualu, DT, Jaguars

Derided for selecting him at 10th overall, the Jaguars’ persistence with Alualu appears to be based more on stubbornness than on-field production. Although short of depth at one-technique, Alualu’s roster spot is far from assured. He is currently ranked 194th out of 207 qualifying tackles this preseason, despite working against backups regularly. His stat sheet reads just one hurry and a blank in the stops column. Alualu has not graded positively once in his six seasons, suggesting the prognosis at the time of his selection was most likely accurate.

Alualu clearly isn’t an advanced metrics darling, but he’s apparently had value for the Jaguars in recent years. 2016 might finally be the season he needs to go however, as the opportunity cost he overtakes with his presence could become an issue. The team needs to see what they have in guys like Michael Bennett and Sheldon Day since they have a significantly higher upside than Alualu.