Tag: Foyesade Oluokun

Why the Jaguars’ defense, and the ‘other’ Josh Allen, deserve your attention

The 8-3 Jacksonville Jaguars are getting it done with a defense that may have escaped your attention. It’s time to take a closer look.

Quite under the radar, the Jacksonville Jaguars have assembled a 8-3 record, and they’re currently the AFC’s three-seed, behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. The prime mover for this improvement for a team that finished 9-8 last season, snuck into the playoffs, and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round, is a defense that currently ranks fifth in the NFL in DVOA — eighth against the pass, and first against the run.

And the prime mover in that defense is clearly EDGE Josh Allen — the Josh Allen who’s having the better season of the NFL’s two Josh Allen’s. The 2019 seventh-overall pick out of Kentucky has the league’s fifth-most pressures among edge-rushers, and his 13 sacks ranks third.

Against the Houston Texans last Sunday in a 24-21 win, that defense and Allen in particular made rookie phenom C.J. Stroud as uncomfortable in and out of the pocket as he’s been in his professional career. Per Pro Football Focus, Stroud was pressured on 28 of his 46 dropbacks, and that’s exactly what it looked like on tape.

“They really didn’t do too much,” Stroud said after the game of Jacksonville’s pressure looks. “They sent some pressure, but not as much as they did early on [in Week 3, when the Texans beat the Jaguars, 37-17]. They got us a couple of times in some weird fronts with some pressure looks. I’ve got to be better with throwing the ball high and things like that, but they really didn’t do much different. They’re a sound team. They’re up front. Josh Allen and [fellow EDGE Travon] Walker set the tone.”

Allen’s two sacks in this game showed how defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and defensive line coach Brentson Buckner are dialing things up in subtle ways to affect and upset opposing quarterbacks.

The first sack came with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Linebackers Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd mugged left guard Juice Scruggs. This made it a six-man pressure look with Olokun dropping and Lloyd occupying left tackle Laremy Tunsil, while Allen came off the left edge unblocked — not a great idea. At the same time, safety Tre Herndon blitzed from the other side on a delay from slot depth.

Allen’s second sack came with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter. Here, Allen was to Tunsil’s outside shoulder, and defensive tackle Angelo Blackson was to Scruggs’ outside shoulder. Blackson occupied Scruggs, and then Allen just made a great play, slipping through Tunsil and Scruggs and chasing Stroud down. This is a defense that can get after your quarterback in multiple ways.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys go deep on this Jacksonville defense, the secret stars that make it work, and how this can set the Jaguars up for success as the season continues.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys go deep on Week 13’s biggest NFL matchup with tape and metrics.

It’s time for Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season, including three Thanksgiving games, and the league’s first Black Friday contest ever. Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important matchups:

Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys: Can Seattle fix its passing game, and deal with a version of Dak Prescott that might be the best we’ve seen?

Denver Broncos at Houston Texans: The underrated players who are at the heart of Denver’s drastic defensive improvement over the last five games.

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles: How both of these teams set up future plays with current plays, and a throw from Brock Purdy you have to see to believe. Also, Jason Kelce might be playing the best football of his Hall of Fame career.

Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers: This Super Bowl I “rematch” comes at a time when Packers quarterback Jordan Love is coming into his own as a franchise quarterback.

Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars: We have not talked enough about the 9-3 Jaguars on both sides of the ball. We would like to apologize, and go deep on Jacksonville’s pressure packages, and how they get their receivers open with scheme.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Colts in Week 1

The Jaguars’ season kicks off against the Colts Sunday. Here are five Jaguars to watch in the season-opening game:

The Jacksonville Jaguars are set to take on the Indianapolis Colts in their first regular season game of the 2023 season Sunday.

Jacksonville is coming off a 9-8 record and a playoff berth last year. Indianapolis, on the other hand, went 4-12-1 and earned the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Both teams are debuting players added in the offseason. Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley and Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will both see their first regular season matchups in their new jerseys.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their season-opening tilt with the Colts:

Jaguars 2023 roster review: LB Foye Oluokun

Foye Oluokun is the back-to-back NFL tackling champ after leading the league again in his first season with the Jaguars.

The brunt of the offseason is in the books and training camp is still off on the horizon. Join us in the NFL’s dead zone with a player-by-player review of the Jaguars roster ahead of the 2023 season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars added a tackling machine in the 2022 offseason when they signed former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Foye Oluokun in free agency.

Oluokun, 27, wasted no time making an impact, earning team captain honors in his first season with the Jaguars. He also lived up to his paycheck by leading the league in tackles for the second straight year.

Much of the Jaguars’ turnaround in 2022 was credited to a new culture inside the building fostered by head coach Doug Pederson. The new team captain in the middle of the defense played a significant role in that transformation too.

Contract (2023): $1.08 million base salary, $4,166,667 prorated signing bonus, $500,000 roster bonus, $500,000 workout bonus, $2.584 million prorated restructure bonus, $8,830,667 million cap hit.

Acquired: Jaguars signed Oluokun to a three-year deal in free agency on March 16, 2022.

PFF grades: 

  • 69.6 (2022)
  • 47.0 (2021 – ATL)
  • 56.6 (2020 – ATL)
  • 62.7 (2019 – ATL)
  • 65.7 (2018 – ATL)

Statistics:

  • Two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two sacks, 184 tackles, 12 tackles for loss (2022)
  • Three interceptions, one forced fumble, two sacks, 192 tackles, four tackles for loss (2021)
  • Two interceptions, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three sacks, 117 tackles, four tackles for loss (2020)
  • One forced fumble, 62 tackles, two tackles for loss (2019)
  • One forced fumble, 91 tackles, two tackles for loss (2018)

Highlight:

Quote: “Me personally, I want more takeaways. Elevate my game, elevate this defense, and we got to be thinking it at all times. You go to sleep thinking it, you wake up thinking it, it’s going to happen for you. We’re going to get more takeaways.” – Oluokun

Calvin Ridley (No. 0) Travis Etienne Jr. (No. 1) Rayshawn Jenkins (No. 2) C.J. Beathard (No. 3) Tank Bigsby (No. 4) Andre Cisco (No. 5)
Chris Claybrooks (No. 6) Zay Jones (No. 7) Logan Cooke (No. 9) Parker Washington (No. 11) James McCourt (No. 12) Christian Kirk (No. 13)
Kendric Pryor (No. 14) Tim Jones (No. 15) Trevor Lawrence (No. 16) Evan Engram (No. 17) Nathan Rourke (No. 18) Sammis Reyes (No. 19)
Daniel Thomas (No. 20) Latavious Brini (No. 21) JaMycal Hasty (No. 22) Foyesade Oluokun (No. 23) Snoop Conner (No. 24) D’Ernest Johnson (No. 25)
Antonio Johnson (No. 26) Divaad Wilson (No. 27) Tevaughn Campbell (No. 29) Montaric Brown (No. 30) Darious Williams (No. 31) Tyson Campbell (No. 32)
Devin Lloyd (No. 33) Gregory Junior (No. 34) Ayo Oyelola (No. 35) Christian Braswell (No. 36) Tre Herndon (No. 37) Qadree Ollison (No. 38)
Jamal Agnew (No. 39) Erick Hallett (No. 40) Josh Allen (No. 41) Andrew Wingard (No. 42) Kaleb Hayes (No. 43) Derek Parish (No. 43)
Travon Walker (No. 44) K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 45) Ross Matiscik (No. 46) De’Shaan Dixon (No. 47) Chad Muma (No. 48) Leonard Taylor (No. 49)
Shaquille Quarterman (No. 50) Ventrell Miller (No. 51) DaVon Hamilton (No. 52) Willie Taylor III (No. 53) DJ Coleman (No. 54) Dequan Jackson (No. 55)
Yasir Abdullah (No. 56) Caleb Johnson (No. 57) Raymond Vohasek (No. 59) Darryl Williams (No. 60) Samuel Jackson (No. 62) Coy Cronk (No. 64)
Chandler Brewer (No. 67) Brandon Scherff (No. 68) Tyler Shatley (No. 69) Cole Van Lanen (No. 70) Walker Little (No. 72) Blake Hance (No. 73)
Cam Robinson (No. 74) Cooper Hodges (No. 75) Anton Harrison (No. 76) Josh Wells (No. 77) Ben Bartch (No. 78) Luke Fortner (No. 79)
Kevin Austin Jr. (No. 80) Seth Williams (No. 81) Elijah Cooks (No. 84) Brenton Strange (No. 85) Gerrit Prince (No. 86) Jaray Jenkins (No. 87)
Oliver Martin (No. 88) Luke Farrell (No. 89) Henry Mondeaux (No. 90) Jordan Smith (No. 92) Tyler Lacy (No. 93) Folorunso Fatukasi (No. 94)
Roy Robertson-Harris (No. 95) Adam Gotsis (No. 96) Nick Thurman (No. 97) Michael Dogbe (No. 98) Jeremiah Ledbetter (No. 99) Brandon McManus
Jacob Harris

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Foye Oluokun says Travon Walker, 2022 rookies are primed for ‘big jump’

Foye Oluokun says Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd, and Chad Muma have a chance to be much better players in 2023.

Foye Oluokun brought much-needed leadership to a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that was severely lacking in experience during the 2022 season. On one side the veteran linebacker had No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker next to him, and on the other he had rookies Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma splitting time in the starting lineup.

Last week, Oluokun was asked what kind of transition those 2022 draft picks could make from year one to year two in their NFL careers.

“A big jump, just because you understand where you’re supposed to be on every play,” Oluokun told reporters. “You’re going to watch all of this film, all these cut ups of plays you might have messed up on technically. Now, you’re going to see the same formation next year, so now it’s like, ‘Alright, I know I’m going to be here. I remember from last year they ran these kind of plays out of this formation.’

“Just being one step ahead of the game now. Making sure you’re retaining information, learning from your mistakes, and just kind of applying that to be a better second year player. That’s how it goes.”

Oluokun, 27, didn’t become a full-time starter with the Atlanta Falcons until his third season and led the NFL in tackles in year four. When the Falcons allowed the linebacker to reach free agency in 2022, the Jaguars scooped him up with a three-year, $45 million deal.

While Walker, Lloyd, and Muma all got valuable experience during their rookie seasons, none was particular effective on the field. Walker was the highest graded of the trio on Pro Football Focus at 58.0. The No. 1 overall pick had 3.5 sacks and an interception, Lloyd had three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, and Muma had 1.5 sacks.

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Would the Jaguars have the fastest 4×100 team? Jamal Agnew thinks so.

Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean is curious which NFL team could put together the fastest 4 x 100 relay team. Jamal Agnew says it’s the Jaguars.

On Thursday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean posed a simple question: Which NFL team could compose the best 4×100-meter relay team using their fastest defensive back, linebacker, running back and wide receiver?

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said his team “would easily” win, but Jacksonville Jaguars receiver and return specialist Jamal Agnew likes Team Duval’s chances.

Agnew has plenty of confidence in his speed. At the Pro Bowl this year, he told Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins that he thinks he’s the fastest player in the NFL and could beat Hill in a race.

The rest of the team picked out by Agnew can certainly turn on the jets too. Chris Claybrooks said his 40-yard dash was timed at 4.25 seconds ahead of the 2020 NFL draft. Foyesade Oluokun reportedly ran a 4.48 at his pro day in 2018, and Travis Etienne Jr. was timed in the low 4.4s in 2021.

We’ll never find out how the Jaguars would fare in that kind of contest, but Agnew’s right — Jacksonville’s quartet can fly.

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Jaguars restructure Foye Oluokun’s deal to free up $10.3 million

The Jaguars are off to a good start on their efforts to get under the salary cap.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a significant step toward digging themselves out of a big salary cap hole. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the contract of linebacker Foye Oluokun was restructured to clear $10.336 million in cap space for the team.

Oluokun, 27, joined the Jaguars during the 2022 offseason on a three-year, $45 million deal. Per Spotrac, the Jaguars converted $12.92 million of Oluokun’s salary into a signing bonus and spread out of his salary over three voidable years that were added to the contract.

It almost certainly won’t be the last Jaguars contract that is restructured in the next month as the team is still well over the $224.8 million salary cap that was set for the 2023 season.

Other contracts that appear primed for a restructure soon include Christian Kirk’s, Cam Robinson’s, and Brandon Scherff’s. The Jaguars are also likely to release cornerback Shaquill Griffin, which would clear more than $13 million in space.

While getting under the salary cap shouldn’t be too difficult for the Jaguars, the team still isn’t in position to have a free agency spending spree like it did in 2022.

Oluokun was a defensive team captain in his first season with the Jaguars and led the NFL in tackles with 184. He also added 12 tackles for loss.

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Jerick McKinnon throws Foyesade Oluokun out of the club with killer blitz block

Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon is small but mighty, and Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun found that out the hard way.

At 5-foot-9 and 201 pounds, Kansas City Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon isn’t an imposing physical presence. Until it’s time to block, which is when the veteran lets his internal Bronko Nagurski out, to the detriment of defenders.

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun found this out the hard way in the third quarter of the Chiefs’ divisional-round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Oluokun came in on a blitz, and McKinnon just blew him right out of the play.

It’s all in a day’s work for McKinnon, who prides himself on being an every-down back. He ended the regular season least with at least one touchdown catch in six straight games — no running back since at least 1970 had ever done that before, and his nine touchdown receptions this season is tied for the most since 1970, along with Marshall Faulk (2001), Chuck Foreman (1975), and Leroy Hoard (1991). Only Washington’s Charley Taylor, who had 12 touchdown catches in 1966, had more among running backs in pro football history, and like McKinnon, Taylor split his time between runner and receiver.

Not bad for an option quarterback in college, who had bit roles with the Vikings, lost two seasons to a knee injury with the 49ers, and started to find his way back with the Chiefs.

McKinnon’s primary quarterback has noticed McKinnon’s attention to the seemingly little things.

“It’s not like he’s looking for the glory or the praise,” Patrick Mahomes said a few weeks back. “He just comes to work every single day with a smile on his face and he brings the energy. You ask anybody in the locker room, he’s probably one of, if not the favorite guy in the locker room. Everybody loves him, and that’s the type of guy he is, and it’s good to see that it’s paying off, all the hard work that he’s doing. And hopefully he can keep scoring touchdowns.”

If not, he can certainly lay the wood so that others can score.

Anatomy of a Play: Jaguars’ linebackers set up Andre Cisco’s pick-six of Jalen Hurts

Jaguars safety Andre Cisco had an impressive pick-six of Jalen Hurts, but it was Jacksonville’s linebackers who set the play up.

One of the most interesting parts of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new-look defense in 2022 is the two new linebackers who are holding it all together. Free-agent acquisition Foyesade Oluokun and first-round pick Devin Lloyd allow defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell to do all kinds of interesting things with his fronts and coverages, because Oluokun and Lloyd already work so well together.

This was never more apparent than with 11:15 left in Jacksonville’s game of the week matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles at Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts tried to hit receiver Zach Pascal on an intermediate crossing route, there wasn’t much oxygen at the end of the route, and safety Andre Cisco took the deflected pass, and returned it 59 yards to the house.

Great play by Cisco, and nice coordinated coverage to cause the pick, but watch Oluokun (No. 23) and Lloyd (No. 33) dropping into coverage underneath, because that was the thing that broke the play open.

Hurts knew better than to test Oluokun or Lloyd through the start and the middle of Pascal’s route, and you can see his hesitation in the pocket. Against lesser linebackers, that would have been a proverbial pitch-and-catch. But coming into Week 4, per Pro Football Focus, the two linebackers had combined to allow 22 receptions on 32 targets for 202 yards, 159 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions (both by Lloyd), four pass breakups (all by Lloyd), and an opponent passer rating of 59.6.

The Jaguars’ defense is working incredibly well from the line to the secondary, but don’t for a minute discount the efforts of those two linebackers to be the glue guys in the middle .

Jaguars DC Mike Caldwell says Foyesade Oluokun is doing better than expected as defensive leader

Though he was confident in Oluokun’s abilities when the #Jaguars first signed him, the preseason made a huge impression on Caldwell.

The Jacksonville Jaguars season opener is right around the corner, and the team’s defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell has been hard at work scheming up a strategy to get his squad a win against the Washington Commanders. He is at the controls of a defense that added some serious contributors at the linebacker position in the offseason, including linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, who will be starting in Duval County this season.

When he was asked his thoughts on if Oluokun’s services were on par with what was advertised in free agency, Caldwell left no question that the Jaguars got a bargain on a player that was somehow overlooked, even as a premium talent at a crucial position.

“He’s really more [than I expected],” Caldwell told reporters. “You watch him on film, and you see him, you always see other middle linebackers controlling that defense, and when you bring him here and have the expectations we have that you’re going to be the guy that you’re controlling everybody. You’re getting everybody lined up, and he takes it, and he runs with it. It’s almost like I can think something, tell him, and then he’ll go out there and execute it, so it’s really easy for me to be able to put that much pressure on a guy and he stands up to it and he’s been doing a great job.”

Though the work has just begun for Oluokun and the defense, the sustained effort that will be necessary for the Jaguars to take a big step forward in 2022 seems within reach for a unit that is so supremely capable. All of the pieces are in place for Jacksonville’s defense to be a top unit in the NFL, all the team needs to do now is follow through on the promise they’ve shown in training camp and preseason.

Oluokun figures to be in the mix on nearly every down for the team, so if his coach’s words are any indication, he’ll be a key factor in the defense’s success in the season opener and every game this year.