With the 27th pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Utah LB Devin Lloyd. They traded up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for this spot.
GRADE: A.
The Jaguars’ front seven just got a whole lot more interesting this offseason. With the signing of former Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun in free agency, and the selection of Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker first overall, defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell can deploy Walker and Josh Allen outside with Oluokun and Lloyd as the off-ball ‘backers, and he can kick Walker inside, moving Lloyd to an EDGE role. Lloyd as quite possibly the best player in the Pac-12 last season, and his versatility will show up right away.
Mark Schofield’s scouting report:
Height: 6’3″ (82nd) Weight: 237 (51st)
40-Yard Dash: 4.66 seconds (52nd)
Bench Press: 25 reps (80th)
Vertical Jump: 35 inches (60th)
Broad Jump: 10’6″ (91st)
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: A safety in high school, Devin Lloyd was a three-star recruit according to 247Sports. Coming out of Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista, California, Lloyd originally committed to UNLV, but flipped to Utah in February of 2017, as the Utes provided him with his only offer from a Power Five school.
Lloyd redshirted as a freshman, but saw action in all of Utah’s games during the 2018 season as a reserve. He stepped into a starting role for the 2019 season at linebacker, racking up 91 tackles, 6.5 sacks and an interception. During the 2020 season, Lloyd played in all five games of the shortened campaign, notching 48 tackles and a pair of sacks.
Lloyd came back to school for his senior campaign, rather than enter the 2021 NFL draft. He led the Pac-12 with eight sacks, and notched another 66 tackles and four interceptions. He was named a First-Team All-American, and was the MVP of the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Stat to Know: As we will see, Lloyd can impact the passing game in a number of ways. Pro Football Focus charted him with four forced incompletions (fourth among linebackers in college football) and 31 pressures, which was sixth among linebackers.
Strengths: Lloyd is perhaps as complete a linebacker as it gets, and the fact the finds ways to impact the passing game makes him ideal for the modern NFL. He is a long defender who puts that length to use, impacting passing lanes, getting to the catch point in either man or zone coverage, or bursting off the edge when Utah aligned him as a pass rusher in passing situations. The Utes used him all over the field, putting him in the A-Gaps in mugged up looks to create pressure, or aligning him on the edge in a three-point stance in sub packages.
Here is how that length shows up in coverage, as he gets to the seam route and prevents the completion:
Then you can see the length off the edge, when Utah lets him attack off the outside:
When used as a pass rusher, Lloyd showed solid technique, with a variety of pass-rushing moves including a cross/chop, a dip/rip and a violent hand swat technique. If he cannot get home, Lloyd’s length can still be disruptive off the edge, even against quick-game concepts:
Lloyd displayed great awareness on the field, even when used in different roles. When Utah dropped him down to the edge, Lloyd would constantly fight to set that edge against the run, showing a great understanding of defensive structure and roles.
A complete player in a rather deep class, Lloyd offers three-down ability on his first day in the league.
Weaknesses: It is hard to find flaws in his game. Pro Football Focus noted that he missed some tackles — they charted him with a 11.5% missed tackle percentage — and that might be a concern. After all, as Bill Belichick loves to tell people, sometimes you lose games because you can’t tackle.
Conclusion: Lloyd is a perfect modern linebacker, who can impact the passing game both as a rusher and a coverage player, and consistently finds ways to put himself in position to help when the offense keeps the ball on the ground. Personally, I will be stunned if he lasts too long on the first night of the draft.
Comparison: When you think of the modern NFL linebacker, with the ability to impact the passing game in multiple ways, Fred Warner is the first name that comes to mind. In talking with others around the media landscape, this seems to be the common comparison.
I have another comparison in mind, however, and it brings us to our first true “outside the box” comparison of this draft cycle…
I have been playing a lot of “Elden Ring” these past few weeks. The game is punishing, and demoralizing at times, but I keep coming back for more. Those who have played the game probably have run into an Erdtree Avatar or two, these massive creatures that swing these huge hammers at you, and if you are not careful and get too close, you get one-shotted and have to reload. Their length, like the game, is punishing.
That’s Lloyd.