The Jacksonville Jaguars turned a lot of heads when they drafted Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma with the 70th overall pick, their second selection in the third round. It was surprising the Jags went that direction after trading back into the first round to take Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd and signing former Atlanta Falcon Foyesade Oluokun this offseason
Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson met with the media on Friday where Baalke defended his decision to take Muma.
“He was highly rated on our board for one,” Baalke said about Muma. “He fits the culture we’re trying to build. I don’t think we can ever have enough good linebackers. He’s a green dot guy. He can run the defense. He’s a really good special teams player as well. There’s just a lot to like.”
He added that they also wanted to take a linebacker just in case an injury happens.
Baalke then explained the role they envision Muma playing in Jacksonville.
“How they fit into the system and how much they are going to be used and what packages they are going to be used on, that’s up to Coach Caldwell and the defensive coaching staff,” he said. “I know special teams-wise, he’s going to fit in day one and then you grow your role from there. All these guys have to come in and earn their (spot).
“We’ve got some guys that are here also that are competing for these jobs. It’s not like they come in and a role is given to them. They’ve got to go earn it. We’re very confident at the value, it was a pick we needed to make.”
This was the second straight answer where he mentioned that Muma would have a big role on special teams, which doesn’t make a ton of sense considering Jacksonville used a third-round pick on him. Hopefully, Muma will come in and earn some significant playing time on defense, not just special teams. Maybe a key to that could be a third-down package, but ultimately time will tell what the Jags have in mind for Muma.