A prospect that I first saw on the camp circuit last spring, Darell James Darell James 6'2" | 210 lbs | DL East Orange | 2025 State NJ had the breakthrough season he was working toward in 2023. Last fall James was credited with 90 tackles (11 solos) with 18 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recovers – one of which was a scoop & score. What film shows is that James is used both off the edge as a traditional 5 with his hand in the dirt, in a 4i, or off the edge as a stand up backer; however, make no mistake about it: James is aggressively moving forward encroaching on your backfield. He does an really nice job for the Jaguars controlling his gap. He does this by getting hands on people in front of him, many times playing proper half-man leverage, and can fill the gap to either side. Tackling-wise, James does an outstanding job of tackling with his leverage, rolling up under several defenders. Dealing with oncoming kick out blockers are something James is starting to become more physical with. One clip we see him hard-joint to box – nearly taking the wind out of the puller – and pursuing the running back who foolishly bounced to the outside. As he prepares for the camp circuit this year (where I hope to see him out on the road), is improving his hand utilization when he plays. Yes, he gets hands on and locks out; however, shedding and hand fighting when pass rushing will elevate his game to another level.

As much as I have seen of James recently, it would not shock me the least bit if he makes his junior year his coming out party. Hailing from East Orange, James fits the type of player we have come to know the Jaguars to have – uber-athletic prospects who are fast and physical. James knows that if offensive players cannot touch him then they cannot block him. He has a strong and powerful dual-arm swipe when pass rushing that nearly tips over tackles. Concurrently, as tackles have their hands rendered useless James turns the corner around them tight to their bodies en route to the backfield.

The East Orange Jaguars are a team that is always flush with talent, size, and athleticism. The next player ordained with this trifecta is the 6’2″ 210lb edge player Darell James Darell James 6'2" | 210 lbs | DL East Orange | 2025 State NJ . As the Jaguars were tasked with defending their 2021 sectional championship last fall, James was credited with 31 stops and 2 for a loss. These stats may be incomplete however.

In very limited clips we see that James typically stands up as an edge player. He does as he is coached and taught to squeeze plays down. Gap scheme offenses trying to run iso may have a hard time with him, as he has shown that he can crash the party in the backfield when he is unaccounted for on this particular play. James likes to attack the ball, making a play on it by attempting to tackle the ball. Should James become just a tad bit more physical when taking on blockers and refrain from getting too far upfield, the Jags defense will be a tough one to run the ball against in 2023.

James might be the next stud athlete to come out of East Orange. Unquestionably, we are dying for more film on him to truly see what he is capable of.

Hudl