The Jacksonville Jaguars invested a lot of draft picks into their defense, which means they will be counting on a lot of young players to improve it after the unit ranked 20th last season. Of their first four draft selections, three of them were on defense as the team took linebackers Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd, and Chad Muma, respectively.
Of the three, Walker and Lloyd are projected to start as both were first-round selections. The Jags took Walker first overall pick to pair with Josh Allen in hopes of getting to the quarterback more, while Lloyd was added after the Jags released linebacker Myles Jack in free agency. That said, both will have more than their share of opportunities to make an impact.
That’s exactly what ESPN’s Mike Clay believes will happen. In his rookie leader projections, Clay projected the Lloyd to lead the co-league in tackles with 87 alongside Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton. He also projected Walker to lead all rookies in sacks, giving him just under a 7.5 figure (7.4). Detroit rookie Aiden Hutchinson was close behind and had a projected figure of 7.1.
