DaVon Hamilton's growth on and off the field led to perfect-timing extension with Jaguars

Timing is everything.

That's especially the case for Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, who recently signed a three-year contract extension worth a reported $34.5 million over the course of the deal, locking him down to Jacksonville through at least the 2026 season.

"It's very exciting. I mean, my plan, even getting drafted here was to stay in Jacksonville for a very long time, and I felt like it was just a big step in that direction," Hamilton recently told the Times-Union. "Just a lot of excitement, it's hard to put into words, really."

The excitement that Hamilton refers to isn't simply a monetary one. Staying in one spot for most of their career isn't realistic for the majority of professional athletes. Players routinely get traded or released at a moment's notice, forcing them to relocate.

The process can be stressful and life-changing, especially if the player has a family to move.

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To Hamilton, that's exactly why the timing of his deal couldn't be better. He and his wife Julia are expecting a baby boy, due in June.

"It's just nice to be able to settle down here in Jacksonville in a nice area in Florida," Hamilton said.

The extension wasn't simply a reward to keep a player in a good financial position, though. Hamilton has stepped into an important role with the Jaguars' defense over the past few seasons.

“DaVon is an integral part of our team,” general manager Trent Baalke said in a release when Hamilton signed his extension.

“Retaining our homegrown players is a key component to our organizational philosophy. He is coming off his best season since being drafted in 2020, and we are confident that his best football lies ahead. He is a great representative of the Jaguars both on and off the field and we are excited for his future in Jacksonville.”

Hamilton's journey wasn't an easy one, though. There were plenty of obstacles to overcome on his way to a successful campaign in 2022.

Hamilton navigated a 'tough' and 'crazy' rookie season

When the world stopped in 2020 because of COVID-19, it halted college players from participating in key, potentially life-changing events leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft.

While Hamilton and his fellow draft mates were able to participate in a lot of the early pre-draft process, much of the process that followed was difficult to navigate.

The same difficult process continued after Hamilton was selected, unable to participate in either rookie minicamp or the preseason, both of which were canceled with the NFL attempting to determine the best course of action to navigate the pandemic. Still, there were some positives to come out of the negative situation.

"It was tough, but honestly, it gave me a little bit of time to recover from playing in college and whatnot. I had a nice area where I could really work out throughout the whole COVID process, so it really helped out a lot," said Hamilton.

"But, definitely, as far as game speed and knowing what to expect within a week or what to expect within gameday even was crazy and then not having any fans in here, it's pretty strange."

All 32 teams were tasked with reducing stadium capacity by a significant percentage. For Jacksonville, the capacity for TIAA Bank Field was reduced to just 25 percent, or roughly 16,791 tickets allowed to be sold. Coming from Ohio State University — where the seating capacity at Ohio Stadium is 102,780 — to a near-empty TIAA Bank Field, was a shock.

"Luckily, I've had a lot of good teammates. That definitely has helped and I'm very goal-oriented when it comes to football," Hamilton said. "I already had ... the goal to stay here for a long time and I knew I could do it."

Along with the football side of things, Hamilton had to navigate real-life situations, like living in a hotel for some time while he and his wife Julia searched for a place to rent in the midst of a pandemic.

The two searched during Memorial Day weekend that year, unable — at that time — to mortgage a home from a financial perspective, understanding that the NFL landscape can be volatile.

"It was fairly crazy," Julia Hamilton told the Times-Union this week when asked about DaVon's rookie year.

"None of the players could hang out outside of the stadium. Just in terms of not being able to really build a community here was really tricky. So it was just the two of us in Jacksonville trying to figure this NFL life out and luckily, it panned out pretty well."

On the gridiron, Hamilton's rookie year didn't come without hurdles, either.

Just 11 games into his first season in the pros, Hamilton suffered a knee injury that cost him the rest of the year. He finished the season with six starts, one sack and 30 total tackles. What was shaping up to be a successful rookie campaign turned ugly in the blink of an eye.

"It was very tough," Hamilton said. "I mean, I have not had — luckily — a lot of injuries in my football career. It's tough because I really wanted to finish my rookie season, I felt like I was on an uphill slope as far as my production and everything like that. So it was really tough and then to sit at home and watch the rest of the season unfold like that, it was crazy."

Since his rookie season, Hamilton has missed just one game (Week 13 in 2021) due to injury and started 14 of 17 games in 2022.

With three coaching changes in three years, it was tough for Hamilton and his teammates to adjust, especially early in their careers. While it would have been nice to have the same coach for all three years, Hamilton said, it taught him how to "move through adversity a little bit more."

Family, support and the perfect moment

While football is a job, it can be unforgiving due to the unknown aspect of the business at the professional level.

Oftentimes, players rely on family to push through adversity. The same can be said for Hamilton, who has leaned on his wife Julia for years.

The two met at Ohio State, ultimately getting married in February 2022. Now, they're getting set to add to their family when their child arrives in June. The commitment Jacksonville made to their family came just in time.

"It was a full circle moment, because it was draft day he re-signed, so that was really cool," said Julia. "Just knowing our family can be more solidified here in Jacksonville because we love the community ... the financial stability it brings, and now we can just focus on raising our little guy to be whoever he wants to be."

Having Julia at his side, Hamilton says, has been "incredible." Julia handles much of the day-to-day while Hamilton is able to remain focused on football during the season.

"I can't be at home a lot, so she really figures out a lot of stuff that I need done or just overall just needs to be done. I don't know, it's hard to put in words because she really does do an awful lot for me," he said.

As referenced earlier, Hamilton's rookie season was tough to navigate at the start, but Julia was instrumental in keeping everything together — handling a lot of the off-the-field situations that came up. She wouldn't have it any other way, either.

"I'm more of a giver to him than I would say for myself, it's just easier for me to focus on helping those I love and that, in turn, helps me more," Julia explained. "It was just easier for me to pour into him because I knew this was his dream.

"The chances of this actually even happening, him making it to the NFL and staying on a team was very slim, and this career, potentially, is so short, so any sacrifice I had to make, I knew it had to be done, but it was for the greater good. And now to see it all pay off, it's just wonderful."

The payoff is for Hamilton and Julia to live in Jacksonville for a while longer, able to retain their home base in the city that wanted him in the first place. Growing up in the cold and snow of Ohio, Hamilton gets to continue his career in sunny and warm Florida — a town that he and his family love.

"I'm really excited to live in Florida," he said. "We're looking forward to building a family and building a community down here. I felt like it just perfectly fits our overall energy, the town is wonderful, it has a lot of great space and everything's kind of spread out. Everything's kind of spread out, kind of a slow-town feel. But, I just feel like it matches us very well."

For a quiet, "super shy" person, Hamilton getting recognized is something Julia is forever grateful for.

"I know how hard he's worked and he's a very humble guy, so he's never gonna boast about himself. So when others acknowledge it, it just makes it all that much better," she added.

'I don't want to just be known as the run stopper'

Hamilton, 6-foot-4, 335 pounds, has played nose tackle for the majority of his NFL career. That position is oftentimes thankless due to a lack of stats to back up performances.

Still, the big-man defensive tackle has been instrumental in the Jaguars' rebuild under head coach Doug Pederson. He's been a rock on the interior of the team's defensive line and is known as the team's best run defender.

That came to light when Jacksonville defeated the Tennessee Titans in Week 18, a game that led to Jacksonville's first AFC South title since 2017 and second since joining the division in 2002.

Henry finished the game with 109 rushing yards on 30 carries (3.63 yards per carry).

"Just a physical mindset, being able to just say, 'hey, I'm on this side over here, you're not gonna run the ball over here,' then, 'I'm good enough to make plays when you try to run away from me,'" Jaguars defensive line coach Brentson Buckner told the Times-Union earlier this week when asked about Hamilton's performance against the Titans.

Hamilton accounted for six tackles, including two solo tackles, but dominated the line of scrimmage, allowing players such as linebacker Foye Oluokun to accumulate plenty of tackles.

Though Hamilton is thought of as a run-stuffing defensive lineman, he wants to be more than just that. His play elevated last season from a pass-rushing perspective. According to Pro Football Focus, Hamilton graded out as the 14th-best defensive tackle in terms of pass rush with a 73.3 grade, just behind Atlanta Falcons DL Grady Jarrett.

"I'm really trying to diversify my game in general. I don't want to just be known as the run-stopper even though I'm really good at it," said Hamilton. "That's my thing, but I really want to be more diverse as a whole defensive lineman in the NFL."

Hamilton accounted for 31 pressures, including 2.5 sacks. He tallied the fifth-most pressures on the team last season behind defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot, who had 36 total.

Though he's been able to steadily rise in play through his first three seasons, his 2022 campaign can be thanked primarily due to the coaching provided by Buckner, Hamilton said.

"He really helped me a lot. It's a big help knowing that he's played in the league, he knows what to expect and what things I can really improve on and add on to and work on every single day," he said.

While he has a fiery and intense demeanor on the field, Buckner is able to relate to players having played in the league for 11 years after being drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1994, finishing his career with the Carolina Panthers from 2001-05. His ability to switch between coach and close mentor is unique.

Buckner joined Hamilton and Julia for their day in the limelight, officially signing his contract extension.

"I'm not a coach. I'm like a teacher. I'm like a friend. I hated coaches. But I loved teachers. I loved Teacher Appreciation Day," Buckner said with a smile. "My math teacher taught me about life, my English teacher taught me about life. And I try to build that relationship with my guys because I don't want them to look at me as a coach because I've been blessed to sit in their chair.

"I walked every step they're walking right now. So, I would like them to trust me and build a relationship in that they trust what I'm telling them, I'm trying to help them avoid the pitfalls, and I tell them from day one when I first meet them, if football and being better football players is the only thing you learn from me, we just wasted our time."

Still, Buckner has taught his players, including Hamilton, plenty about football. Buckner first saw Hamilton while he was on the Arizona Cardinals' coaching staff while Hamilton was coming out of Ohio State. What he saw on tape is what Hamilton can continue to build on throughout his NFL career.

"A big, athletic guy who could do things not normally done by a guy his size," he said. "Now, normally you see a guy his size, you think more run-stopper, nose tackle type of guy, but he had the ability and a skill set to be more than that."

During his first two years with the team, Hamilton was tasked to sit back, read and react. Buckner found a way to unleash the aspect of his game he saw when he watched the OSU film.

Part of how he got Hamilton there is by preaching conditioning. Hamilton has always been in shape for football, but not always in shape to be a great player, which is what he learned as the season went on last year, Buckner said, "The energy level in which he practiced carried over to the game."

Moving forward, Buckner is going to keep teaching Hamilton and the rest of the team's defensive line. He also wants Hamilton not to pin himself in the role of just a "run stopper."

"He's a football player. He's a defensive lineman," Buckner explained. "He's a guy that's capable of putting him anywhere. He might do it differently, but he should be able to do it. That's where I want him to elevate his game. Not just looking, 'I'm just a run stopper. No, I'm a defensive lineman.'"

Moving forward, Hamilton's role will expand, Buckner said. He's at the tip of the iceberg as far as his level of play at 26 years old.

"I tell him, look at the growth of guys like Vita Vea. People said that Vita Vea was just gonna be a run-stopper coming out of Tampa Bay. And I think he ended up leading them in sacks this past year," Buckner said.

"You look at Daron Payne and those guys. The evolution of those guys, because they're blessed with athletic ability, when the game goes to more pass, they can evolve into powerful pass rushers who could be very relevant in this game and DaVon has that type of ability. Now he's got to go out there and do it."

In the end, Hamilton's success will take him as far as he wants it to. His importance with the Jaguars often gets overshadowed by others, but he's an integral part of the team's core. More importantly for Buckner, he's an integral part of his classroom and family.

"That's a mile-marker for him because all he did was go out there and do his job the way I asked him, the way [defensive coordinator] Mike [Caldwell], the way [head coach] Doug [Pederson] asked him to do it," said Buckner. "And that's his reward. And so to celebrate that and [to] see that happening, seeing him and his wife's face, man, those are priceless moments."

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' DaVon Hamilton reflects on past and future after extension