Now with a different NFL team, could this third-year Clemson pro be in line for a breakout 2026 campaign?
ESPN recently circled one breakout candidate for each NFL team ahead of the upcoming season, and former Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro was pegged as the breakout candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After spending his first two professional seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Orhorhoro was traded to the Jaguars in April, in exchange for defensive tackle Maason Smith, who was taken 13 picks after Orhorhoro in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Orhorhoro became the first defensive player selected by the Falcons in the 2024 draft when they took him in the second round with the 35th overall pick. Atlanta selected him after he logged eight tackles for loss and a career-high five sacks during his redshirt senior season at Clemson in 2023, when he earned third-team All-ACC honors.
“It’s pretty easy to explain why Orhorhoro had such a tough tenure in Atlanta. Overdrafted in 2024 and then injured during his rookie training camp, Orhorhoro came out of the gates slow: 11 combined tackles in eight games played in Year 1. He was asked to play in two different defenses in two seasons, and his fit next to Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata was never ideal in either year. It was a mess in Atlanta, and he was worthy of a fresh start in Jacksonville,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote.
“Orhorhoro hasn’t had enough splash plays yet to even call him an exciting developmental player. But the new opportunity in Jacksonville comes with a thin depth chart. Nose tackle DaVon Hamilton and aging veteran Arik Armstead are the only players clearly above Orhorhoro on the depth chart in what figures to be a rotation anyway. If he is freed up to play a penetrating, disrupting style, he should become an important player with the Jags.”
Orhorhoro played in 25 games over his two seasons with Atlanta. After posting 11 tackles, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit over eight games during his rookie 2024 campaign, the 6-foot-4, 295-pounder tallied 25 tackles, four tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, six quarterback hits and a pass defended while playing in all 17 games for the Falcons last season, including eight starts.
During his Clemson career from 2019-23, Orhorhoro racked up 97 tackles (25.5 for loss), 12 sacks, nine pass breakups and two fumble recoveries over 53 games (30 starts).
Orhorhoro and Jaguars franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence were teammates at Clemson for two years from 2019-20, and Lawrence is happy to now have Orhorhoro on board with the Jags.
“I’m excited,” Lawrence said after the Jags traded for Orhorhoro. “He’s a great guy. I’m excited to get him in the building, and a good addition for him. Yeah, it’ll be fun.”