The Jacksonville Jaguars continued to beef up their linebacking corps this offseason. They signed former Atlanta Falcon Foyesade Oluokun in free agency and drafted Utah’s Devin Lloyd with the 27th overall pick.
But Jacksonville wasn’t finished. It drafted Wyoming’s Chad Muma with its second third-round pick, making Tony Gilbert’s linebacker room quite crowded.
The selection of Muma is puzzling when considering the franchise already drafted one and paid a lot of money for one in free agency. It gets more head-scratching after realizing that the Jaguars have listed No. 1 overall pick, Travon Walker, as an outside linebacker. So officially, general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson have now added four linebackers this offseason, including Walker.
However, Muma is a solid player and many scouts and media members considered him one of the best linebackers in this year’s class. He racked up 266 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, three picks, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble in four seasons with the Cowboys. As a senior, he tallied 142 tackles with eight of them being for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and three interceptions.
NFL.com‘s Lance Zierlein likes his see-ball, get-ball mentality and his ability to hunt down runners with good build-up and aggressive demeanor. However, Zierlein noted that he falls prey to false steps and wasted motion at times.
The Jags, Baalke, and Pederson made a great pick with Muma, but finding a way to get him on the field could be challenging. Maybe placing him on special teams will help.
Heading forward, they still need to add talent at several other positions like defensive tackle, offensive tackle, tight end, or wide receiver. With six picks remaining, it will be interesting to see how the Jags address their remaining needs during the last day of the draft Saturday.
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