Dennis Gardeck
Jacksonville JaguarsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Draft & College
Comps
STM Take
First STTM top-80 finish at tier 8 (#65) in year eight as a 2018 Division II UDFA puts Gardeck in the rarest journeyman class. The Sioux Falls Division II UDFA origin plus the multi-team experience give him basic plug-in pass-rush rotation veteran value. The 2026 question is whether Gardeck holds an active-roster spot at age 31 or whether the role compresses to practice-squad rotation.
Gardeck came out of Sioux Falls (Division II) as a 2018 undrafted free agent signed by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent six years with the Cardinals as a rotational pass-rusher before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025. His first STTM top-80 finish comes in 2025 at tier 8 (#65), a year-eight emergence for a Division II UDFA.
Strengths
- Eight years of NFL survival as a Sioux Falls Division II UDFA gives him real journeyman veteran market value.
- Multi-team experience across two systems gives him basic plug-in pass-rush rotation veteran value.
Concerns
- Single tier 8 finish in year eight plus no prior top-80 STTM history caps the long-term projection certainty.
- Age 31 plus eight years of LB wear puts the late-career structural decline question on every 2026 projection.
What to watch: Whether Gardeck holds an active-roster spot for the full 2026 Jaguars season or whether the role compresses to practice-squad rotation.