Tag: Chad Muma

Jaguars’ Doug Pederson: ‘We just needed to get Chad Muma in the game’

Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd spent the entire fourth quarter watching from the sideline.

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd spent a significant amount of time Sunday watching fellow rookie linebacker Chad Muma get extended action against the Kansas City Chiefs.

After the game, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the decision to keep Lloyd on the sideline wasn’t due to anything other than Muma’s capabilities.

“There was no injury,” Pederson said. “We just needed to get Chad in the game.”

Lloyd, a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, began the season as a Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite when he recorded two interceptions, six passes defended in the first three weeks. Since then, Lloyd has been a liability in coverage with opposing offenses targeting the middle of the field.

While Lloyd opened the game against the Chiefs with a fumble recovery, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense had little difficulty racking up three passing touchdowns by halftime.

Muma, a third-round rookie, played the entire fourth quarter and had a season-high 25 defensive snaps. That matched his total from the last five weeks combined. Muma finished Week 10 with five tackles.

Fifth-year linebacker Foye Oluokun, who was signed in the offseason to a three-year, $45 million deal, played every defensive snap Sunday and was credited with seven tackles.

Jaguars rookie Chad Muma has been ‘unbelievable’ on special teams

Special teams coordinator Heath Farwell has loved what he’s seen from rookie linebacker Chad Muma.

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie linebacker Chad Muma hasn’t played much on defense through two games with Foye Oluokun and Devin Lloyd ahead of him on the depth chart, but special teams coordinator Heath Farwell hasn’t minded.

“Chad played unbelievable,” Farwell said Thursday of Muma’s contributions on special teams in Week 2. “You guys saw the tackles, but it was the physicality that was impressive of just getting off blocks, running his feet, just physical play.

“I challenged our guys, ‘Let’s play just as fast as them or match that,’ and our guys battled. They played hard, and he was a big part of it. He played physical, played fast, so he played unbelievable. That was impressive.”

Muma, 23, was the Jaguars’ third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and made a push for a starting role on defense while Lloyd was out of action for much of August. But the Jaguars’ second of two first-round picks eventually earned a starting spot and has excelled early.

While that hasn’t left room for Muma to contribute much on defense, Farwell says it’s only a matter of time before he’s no longer a help on special teams.

“Early in training camp, we saw the signs of, ‘This guy is going to be a really good special teamer,’ and he’s a guy that we’ll lose because he’s too good of a player not to have on the field on defense,” Farwell said.

Through two weeks, Muma has taken eight snaps on defense and 33 on special teams. He’s recorded four tackles.

Jaguars list Devin Lloyd, Jawaan Taylor as starters in Week 1 depth chart

Devin Lloyd and Jawaan Taylor are among the starters in the Jaguars’ Week 1 depth chart release.

The Jacksonville Jaguars appear set to start Jawaan Taylor at right tackle and Devin Lloyd at inside linebacker for a season opener against the Washington Commanders.

On Tuesday, four days ahead of the Week 1 kickoff in Washington, the Jaguars released their first official depth chart since cutting the roster down to 53 players. It shows Lloyd, Taylor, and Ben Bartch as starters.

On Monday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson played coy about his Week 1 starting lineup, telling reporters that they may not find out the winners of a few positional battles until Sunday.

When asked in particular about a battle between third-round rookie Chad Muma and first-rounder Devin Lloyd, Pederson said practices ahead of the opener loomed large.

“I honestly don’t know because we’ve got to get through Wednesday and Thursday first, and I’ll have an answer for you later in the week,” Pederson said of the linebacker battle.

There have also been a couple battles on the offensive line with Ben Bartch and Tyler Shatley competing at left guard, as well as Walker Little and Taylor at right tackle. Pederson said the team already knows what the lineup looks like, but he wasn’t ready to reveal it to the public.

The depth chart release doesn’t necessarily mean Pederson won’t pull a fast one Sunday, but it does seem that the surprise may have been spoiled.

Jaguars players are tuned in for college football kickoff

These four #Jaguars are all-in on their alma maters’ college football kickoffs

A week before the Jacksonville Jaguars kick off their 2022 redemption campaign, the team took to social media to show its players excited about the college football season. Across the NFL’s 32 teams nearly every rostered player got their career started at the collegiate level, whether playing football or basketball. They will all be tuned in for the first games of their former school’s seasons this week.

Here are the Jaguars who will be glued to their couch this weekend as their alma maters take on their first challenges of the year:

Six Jaguars poised for big performances vs. Steelers

These six players are set to prove that preseason football is anything but boring when the #Jaguars take on the #Steelers on Saturday night.

Though the outcome of this game is inconsequential to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ hopes of redemption in 2022, there are several players who could make their case for a roster spot with big performances against the Steelers. For teams in the middle of a rebuild, expectations are relatively low for anyone under contract who isn’t due a bunch of guaranteed money, and the door to significant playing time can swing wide open at any time.

Here are six Jaguars who are set to make their case for a roster spot against Pittsburgh in Jacksonville’s third preseason game:

Snap counts from Jags’ 24-13 preseason loss to the Browns

Here are the snap counts from the #Jaguars’ preseason game against the Browns.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Cleveland Browns Friday, dropping their preseason record to 0-2. Even with the loss, though, the positive part about the game was that their starters shined and got the Jags off to a 13-0 start in the first few series of the game.

However, it was the Jags’ backup players who played most of the game Friday. With roster cuts coming up on Tuesday, the snap counts for these players especially are important as they are the players who are being looked at to trim the roster down from 90 to 85. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the team’s overall snap counts for all three sides of the ball to gauge who made the most of their opportunities.

Thesesnaps were calculated by NFLGSIS.

Offense

  • Receiver Jeff Cotton Jr. led the Jags in offensive snaps. However, he wasn’t able to register a catch and was targeted three times. That may be a bad sign for the young receiver with cuts coming up on Tuesday.
  • Receiver Tim Jones had the second-highest snap count at the receiver position. He also had the most special teams snap counts when looking at the whole offense, which help his chances to stick around. Jones took better advantage of the offensive opportunities he received than Cotton and brought in five catches for 42 yards. That gave him a receiving yards total that was only under Zay Jones (47) on the night.
  • Quarterback Jake Luton received the most snaps when looking at the Jags’ signal-callers. However, he had a rough night and was 12-of-21 for 92 passing yards and one pick. This could make the Jags consider Luton for Tuesday’s cuts and it would allow them to get a better look at undrafted rookie EJ Perry.
  • Jawaan Taylor and Walker Little entered this game in competition with each other for the starting right tackle job. There wasn’t much of a difference in their total counts as Taylor had 27 and Little had 24. Taylor ended up getting the start and had a Pro Football Focus grade of 59.7, while Little had a 63.3.
  • Rookie center Luke Fortner once again got to start on Friday. He received 25 reps on the night.
  • Brandon Scherff took the field for his first game as a Jaguar Friday. Like Fortner, he received 25 snaps on the night.
  • Quarterback Trevor Lawrence also took the field for his first game this preseason. Like Fortner and Scherff, he received 25 reps.
  • Travis Etienne retuned to the field for the first time since last preseason and received 22 snaps.

 

Defense

  • Linebacker Chapelle Russell led the Jags in defensive snaps with 33. He also received a sizable amount of special team reps (nine). Russell is familiar with the defensive scheme as he played under defensive coach Mike Caldwell in Tampa in 2020, so receiving the most reps on Friday isn’t shocking.
  • Rookie seventh-round cornerback Montaric Brown received the most snaps when it comes to first-year players. He took advantage of that on the stat sheet and led the defense in tackles with five overall.
  • Second-year nose tackle Jay Tufele had a solid night. He was tied for fourth in snap counts with 27. He fell just below Brown in total tackles with four and was one of the Jags’ highest-graded defensive players, according to PFF (76.0). 
  • Former first-round pick K’Lavon Chaisson was among the players who received 20 or more snaps (20), and he led the defense in special teams snaps with 13, too.
  • Rookie linebacker Chad Muma got to start for a second consecutive week with Devin Lloyd out. Just like Chaisson, he had 20 snaps, too. His 12 reps as a special-teamer were the second highest on defense. That’s important because he’s expected to see a significant amount of special teams snaps in the regular season.
  • Like most of the starters, interior linebacker Foye Oluokun only saw nine snaps as a starter. Friday’s game marked his first taking the field with the Jags after signing a three-year deal with them in free agency.
  • Rookie No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker saw only nine reps like the other starters, but he made his presence known in the process. He only had one tackle, but his 73.3 PFF score was one of the highest on defense.

Jaguars 2022 training camp preview: Linebackers

There was no position that the Jags bolstered more than the LB position this offseason as they spent three of their top-4 draft picks on the unit.

Training camp will be starting Monday for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and we’ve given a positional preview of every position on the offensive end. Before they take the field, we wanted to knock out some of the defense as well, which could be the side of the ball that improves the most due to the additions it received.

There isn’t a position the Jags bolstered more than the linebacker one as they made a splash signing there in free agency and found a new starter in Foyesade Oluokun after releasing former team captain Myles Jack. Then in the draft, the Jags spent three of their top four picks on linebackers, including two in the first round.

Let’s take a look at the linebacker position as a whole and what the new group will look like before the Jags take the field:

WATCH: Behind-the-scenes look at Jaguars’ draft process

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ process heading into the 2022 NFL draft

For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars kicked off the NFL draft with the No. 1 overall pick, but this year’s selection was a bit more surprising.

After spending the top pick on quarterback Trevor Lawrence last year, the Jags threw a bit of a curveball this time around, selecting Georgia edge defender Travon Walker.

They weren’t done in the first round, either. Jacksonville traded up from the No. 33 overall pick in the second round with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, jumping up to No. 27 for Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd.

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the Jags’ draft process:

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Jags sign third round selection Chad Muma

ICYMI: The Jags have signed one more rookie from the 2022 NFL Draft in Chad Muma. Only Luke Fortner remains unsigned now.

The Jacksonville Jaguars came to terms with one more rookie who was selected in last month’s draft. That player was linebacker Chad Muma who the team took with the 70th overall selection out of Wyoming.

Muma, 22, was one of the top linebackers in the draft, who many felt could be a second, or in some cases, first round pick. While with the Cowboys, Muma accumulated 267 total career tackles with 147 of them being solo tackles. During his last season, he accumulated 142 of his career tackles, while also garnering eight tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Muma is one of many athletic linebackers the Jags drafted in April. They also selected Devin Lloyd and Travon Walker in the first-round to help bolster the position. The Jags signed interior linebacker Foyesade Oluokun in free agency, too.

With Oluokun and Lloyd projected to start in the middle, many were left wondering where Muma would play, and he revealed that the team would be giving him reps at the money backer position a few weeks ago. The position is a linebacker and safety hybrid who can do several things, including helping out in the box and covering skill players, to name a few. 

According to Over the Cap’s estimations, Muma’s deal is one with a total value of over $5.7 million. His signing bonus is projected to be around $1.3 million throughout the deal, which should end up being a four-year contract. 

With Muma signing his contract, the Jags have just one draft selection who hasn’t been signed in center Luke Fortner.

Jags LB Chad Muma discusses taking field with Devin Lloyd, former Wyoming teammate Trey Smith

Jaguars LB Chad Muma discussed playing alongside Devin Lloyd for the first time and his college teammate, Trey Smith III, when he met with the media on Friday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ draft picks from the 2022 NFL Draft hit the field for the first time at rookie minicamp, which kicked off on Friday. Their top selections like No. 1 selection Travon Walker and third-round pick Chad Muma all had the chance to speak with the media afterward.

Muma talked about what it was like to take the field with the Jags’ other Round 1 pick, Devin Lloyd, and reunite with his Wyoming teammate and running back Trey Smith III, the son of former Jags receiver Jimmy Smith.

Jacksonville signed Smith as an undrafted free agent on Thursday.

“Having Devin [Lloyd] and I out there and be able to really communicate and really communicate with each other and really push each other, that’s kind of something that we talked about going into today,” Muma said. “From here on out it’s just to push each other every single day to really get ourselves better and always [have] that communication aspect where we’re making both the calls and we’re having that leadership on both sides of the defense.”

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson made the interesting move to double-up on interior linebackers in the draft. They traded back into Round 1 to take Lloyd and selected Muma two rounds later despite that. They also signed former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun in free agency.

Because of all these additions at linebacker, the competition for playing time and the starting spot next to Oluokun should be fierce. It appears Muma and Lloyd understand that as well. Muma said after he was drafted that he eventually wants to be the captain of the defense and carry that green dot helmet.

When speaking about his former college teammate in Smith, Muma said he was an energizer bunny for the Cowboys and always motivated the team. He believes that he’ll bring that to Jacksonville, too.

“I think Trey Smith [III] is a great player,” he said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s a great leader also on our Wyoming team back in the past.”

It will be interesting to see if Smith somehow finds a way to make the Jaguars’ final 53-man roster. He will have a lot of competition to work through as the Jags have several players fighting for position under Travis Etienne and James Robinson, including fifth-round pick Snoop Conner.

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