Tag: Ventrell Miller

Jaguars hire ex-LSU DC Matt House as linebackers coach

The Jaguars are reportedly hiring former LSU defensive coordinator Matt House to coach their linebackers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hiring Matt House to their new linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

House most recently spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers before he was fired earlier this month. After the LSU defense ranked 41st in the country during the 2022 season, allowing an average of 354.6 yards per game, it plummeted to 108th in 2023 with the average yardage climbing to 416.6.

Prior to his time at LSU, House made a few coaching stops in the NFL. Early in his career, he spent one season as an assistant special teams coach with the Carolina Panthers and three as a defensive quality control coach with the St. Louis Rams.

House’s last NFL stop was a three-year stint as linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also worked for three years as a linebackers coach at Kentucky while Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen was at the school.

While Jaguars coach Doug Pederson elected to fire most of the defensive coaching staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey was among those who were retained.

That could mean that House is tasked with working with the team’s inside linebackers. That group currently consists of Foye Oluokun, 2022 draft picks Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, and 2023 pick Ventrell Miller.

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Jaguars LB Ventrell Miller out for 2023 season with Achilles injury

Jaguars linebacker Ventrell Miller is done for the year after suffering an Achilles tear in the team’s preseason finale.

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Ventrell Miller will miss his entire rookie season after suffering an Achilles injury in the team’s preseason finale, coach Doug Pederson announced Monday.

Miller, a fourth round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, underwent surgery earlier this year to repair a broken bone in his foot and missed parts of the offseason during his recovery. After a slow start to August, Miller put together his best preseason performance Saturday against the Miami Dolphins, earning an 83.9 grade from PFF before leaving due to the injury.

The Jaguars have three starting quality inside linebackers in Foye Oluokun, Devin Lloyd, and Chad Muma. It appeared as though Miller was competing with fourth-year veteran Shaquille Quarterman to be the fourth player on the depth chart. The team also has special teams ace Caleb Johnson and undrafted rookie Dequan Jackson at the position.

Miller recorded nine tackles in preseason with two sacks in his first two games.

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Jaguars 2023 roster review: LB Ventrell Miller

Ventrell Miller had plenty of adversity at Florida before joining the Jaguars as a fourth round pick.

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.

Ventrell Miller’s path from the University of Florida to the NFL was far from smooth.

After beginning his collegiate career with a suspension for credit card fraud, Miller emerged as a leader for the Gators defense in subsequent years. Then a bicep tear cost him almost all of the 2021 season.

When he returned to the field in 2022, Miller wasn’t quite the same. It wasn’t until after his final year at Florida that it was revealed that the linebacker played the season with a Jones fracture in his foot.

Despite those challenges, the Jaguars believed enough in Miller’s potential to make him a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Contract (2023): $750,000 base salary, $184,234 prorated signing bonus, $934,234 cap hit.

Acquired: Jaguars drafted Miller with the No. 121 overall selection in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

PFF grades:

  • 68.4 (2022 – UF)
  • 56.7 (2021 – UF)
  • 67.5 (2020 – UF)
  • 74.6 (2019 – UF)
  • 91.5 (2018 – UF)

Statistics:

  • Two forced fumbles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 74 tackles (2022)
  • Eight tackles (2021)
  • 3.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 86 tackles (2020)
  • Three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, 55 tackles (2019)
  • One interception, one sack, two tackles for loss, 15 tackles (2018)

Highlight:

Quote: “He’s very instinctive, he’s quick, he can run, and then additionally off the field and in the locker room there at Florida, he’s been a multiple-year captain. He’s a fantastic kid. He has the DNA right that we’re looking for in the locker room.” – Jaguars assistant general manager Ethan Waugh on Miller

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) 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
Josh Pederson

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Jaguars tried trading up for Ventrell Miller before getting him anyway

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke couldn’t find any trade partners during the third day of the draft. Apparently, that was a good thing.

Shortly after the 2023 NFL draft ended, Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke told reporters that there was a point during the third day when “15 or 16 teams” spurned his efforts to trade up.

On Thursday night, it was revealed that all those failed trade tries were actually pretty fortuitous for the Jaguars.

In the latest episode of “The Hunt” — a behind-the-scenes docuseries about the Jaguars’ offseason — cameras inside the draft room showed Baalke working the phones during the fourth round.

“The frustrating thing is how many calls we have made. We can’t get a trade?” Baalke can be heard saying to head coach Doug Pederson.

But those frustrations turned into celebrations when the player they were purportedly targeting, Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller, was available to select with the No. 121 pick anyway.

“We try to trade with 23 teams, we get him anyway,” Baalke is shown saying with a laugh. He’s then shown telling Miller over the phone that the Jaguars tried to make 20 trades to come up and get him.

It isn’t a shock that the Jaguars tried to use their ample draft capital in Day 3 to move up. However, it’s a little surprising that Miller was the player all along.

Few expected Miller, who played most of his final season at Florida with a foot fracture, to be picked that early. While the Jacksonville front office thought more highly of the linebacker, evidently Baalke and co. were also convinced that Miller wasn’t going to stay on the board long.

All’s well that ends well for the Jaguars, who didn’t lose draft capital to land Miller, despite their best efforts.

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Jaguars rookie LB Ventrell Miller not fully cleared for minicamp

Ventrell Miller is on the field at rookie minicamp, but coach Doug Pederson says he isn’t ready yet to take full-speed reps.

Jacksonville Jaguars coaches are getting to see the team’s 2023 NFL draft picks in action for the first time this weekend at a rookie minicamp. But fourth-round pick Ventrell Miller isn’t quite ready to participate fully just a few months after undergoing foot surgery.

On the day Miller was drafted, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed that the former Florida linebacker played almost all of the 2022 season with a Jones fracture — a break to the fifth metatarsal bone on the outside of the foot — and had it repaired shortly after his collegiate career ended.

“I’m not going to put a timetable on him,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said of Miller in a Friday press conference. “This is the first time our trainers and our doctors have got their hands on him. We’ll put a plan together, beginning this weekend.

“I know he can do some things, he just can’t do a lot of full-speed work right now. It’s hard to say. I don’t want to put him in a box either, I just want to let our medical team take over from here.”

While Miller was limited in the practice session Friday, he was still a participant in several drills with his new teammates.

Miller earned SEC Player of the Week honors twice during the 2020 season before missing most of the 2021 season due to injury and playing through his foot fracture in 2022.

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Jaguars announce contracts for 10 of their 13 draft picks

Only three draftees are unsigned after the Jaguars announced a flurry of contracts Friday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed 10 draft picks Friday, announcing contracts for running back Tank Bigsby, linebacker Ventrell Miller, outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah, safety Antonio Johnson, wide receiver Parker Washington, cornerback Erick Hallett II, cornerback Christian Braswell, offensive lineman Cooper Hodges, defensive tackle Raymond Vohasek, and fullback Derek Parish.

That leaves only first-round pick Anton Harrison, second-round pick Brenton Strange, and fourth-round pick Tyler Lacy left unsigned from the team’s 2023 NFL draft class.

Strange reportedly reached a deal with the Jaguars on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston, but the contract hasn’t been announced by the Jaguars yet.

Details of the rookie deals signed Friday haven’t been made public, but most of the terms of the contracts are pre-determined by the rookie wage scale written into the league’s collective bargaining agreement. An eventual deal with Harrison is expected to be for about $13.2 million over four years with a fifth-year option that’ll be impacted by play time and potential Pro Bowl appearances.

The Jaguars’ 13-player draft class is the largest in the franchise’s history. Ten of those selections came in Day 3, the most for any team in the last three drafts.

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Jaguars 2023 draft: Projected contract for each Jacksonville pick

The contract for each player picked by the Jaguars in the 2023 NFL draft has largely been predetermined by the CBA.

The Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly reached an agreement on a four-year deal with sixth-round wide receiver Parker Washington on Thursday, but that still leaves another 12 draft picks to sign.

While that may sound like a costly endeavor, the total cost of the signings shouldn’t be much. The collective sum of the 2023 cap hits for the Jaguars’ picks will exceed 10 million, but the NFL only requires teams to fit their top 51 contracts under the salary cap (as fitting 90 under the cap in the offseason would be unrealistic).

With a rookie wage scale in place and the Jaguars not picking in the top 10 for the first time in a while, the total cost of a baker’s dozen of rookie contracts isn’t much.

Here are what the 13 draftees are likely to get when they finalize their deals with the Jaguars:

Introducing the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 NFL Draft class

Get to know the 13 players drafted by the Jaguars this year.

The 2023 NFL draft is in the books and the Jacksonville Jaguars added their biggest class ever.

With 13 players — 10 of which came on Day 3 — the Jaguars have a ton of rookies competing for spots on a mostly intact roster that won the AFC South in 2022.

While experts largely predicted that the Jaguars would target defensive backs and pass rushers early, the team instead spent its first three picks on offensive players.

Here’s the baker’s dozen of draftees and links to learn more about each of them:

New York Jets sign S Trey Dean III as UDFA

Trey Dean III might not have heard his name called during the draft, but he quickly signed a free-agent deal with the New York Jets to start his pro career.

The New York Jets are taking a chance on longtime Florida safety [autotag]Trey Dean III[/autotag] as an undrafted free agent signing.

Dean’s five years with the Gators featured plenty of ups and downs, but he leaves the program with 259 total tackles (141 solo), 24 pass deflections, 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, four interceptions and a forced fumble.

During UF’s pro day, Dean explained that he’d been dealing with labral hip tears that would require surgery. Plenty of teams still met with Dean leading up to the draft, but it looks like no one was willing to risk a pick on a player with healthy concerns heading into the offseason.

It might take some development to turn Dean into an NFL-caliber player, but he’s a dynamic defensive back that hits hard and tackles better than most fans give him credit for.

Dean is the second Gator to sign as an undrafted free agent following [autotag]Richard Gouraige[/autotag] to the Bills. Six former Florida football players heard their names called during the draft.

The Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] with the fourth overall pick. Defensive lineman [autotag]Gervon Dexter Sr[/autotag]. (Chicago) and Torrence came off the board in the second round. Linebackers [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] (Jacksonville) and [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] (Las Vegas) went in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively.

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Former Florida safety Rashad Torrence II signed as UDFA by Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are bringing in former Florida safety Rashad Torrence II as an undrafted free agent.

The Los Angeles Rams wasted little time reaching out and signing former Florida safety [autotag]Rashad Torrence II[/autotag] following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL draft.

Torrence made 25 starts over the final two seasons of his Florida career and leaves Gainesville with 196 total tackles (111 solo), six pass deflections and three interceptions. He’s likely to play as a free safety in the NFL and put up decent coverage numbers throughout 2022, according to Pro Football Focus.

A member of the high school class of 2020, Torrence spent just three years at Florida and declared as an underclassman. Although his 40-yard dash time isn’t as high as many scouts would like, he’s a young, moldable piece that the Rams could use as depth in the secondary until he matures.

Torrence is the third Gator to sign as an undrafted free agent following Richard Gouraige to the Bills and Trey Dean III to the Jets. Six former Florida football players heard their names called during the draft.

Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] with the fourth overall pick. Defensive lineman [autotag]Gervon Dexter Sr[/autotag]. (Chicago) and Torrence came off the board in the second round. Linebackers [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] (Jacksonville) and [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] (Las Vegas) went in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively.

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