The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2025 NFL season as a barely blip on anyone's radar. Despite obvious excitement in the fanbase at the new leadership of head coach Liam Coen, executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli, and general manager James "Trade 'em while you got 'em" Gladstone, NFL analysts around the league weren't ranking the Jaguars high on any power rankings.
Even after Gladstone made a splash in the draft with Heisman Trophy winner and two-way phenom Travis Hunter, pundits refused to give the team the respect it felt it deserved. Now, after beating the Chiefs in primetime, the Jaguars are 4-1 and tied for the best record in football (and still, there are still plenty of naysayers). While Hunter has certainly played well at times, it's the defense that Jacksonville has relied on to win football games, and the play of the linebackers has stood out the most.
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Jaguars linebackers Devin Lloyd and Foyesade Oluokun continue to turn heads
Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun has quietly been one of the NFL's best linebackers for several years. He led the league in tackles in 2021 (192) with the Atlanta Falcons and again in 2022 (184), the same year the Jaguars signed him. It's no surprise that he's continuing to play at a high level under the leadership of new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.
Fourth-year veteran Devid Lloyd, however, seems to have come out of nowhere. "Lloyd's career renaissance comes after three seasons in which he had sporadic success under coordinators Mike Caldwell and Ryan Nielsen," writes ESPN's Michael DiRocco. "Lloyd did win Defensive Rookie of the Month in September 2022 after recording 24 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups, but ended up getting benched for a couple games later that season for fellow rookie Chad Muma."
Lloyd's previous three years have been up and down enough that Gladstone and company opted not to pick up the fifth-year option, meaning No. 0 will be a free agent after this season. His play so far in 2025, however, is showing that this decision might've been one of the first misses of Jacksonville's new leadership.
Lloyd has had a takeaway in four straight games: four INTs and a fumble recovery, including a 99-yard scamper for a touchdown after picking off Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Monday Night Football.
Devin Lloyd's 99-yard pick-six swung the Jaguars' win probability by 42 percentage points (28% to 70%).
Lloyd has now added +95.4% in win probability across his league-leading 4 interceptions, more than 2x the next closest defender.#KCvsJAX | #DUUUVALpic.twitter.com/RW7wAT5hzC
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 7, 2025
The former Utah Ute has already racked up four passes defensed and 25 tackles. He was awarded the Defensive Player of the Week after Week 4 and then received the Defensive Player of the Month for September the following day.
And the Jaguars have depth at the position, as well. Newcomer Dennis Gardeck forced a fumble, rookie Jack Kiser has played well enough when needed, and Ventrall Miller and Yasir Abdullah are solid backups.
Related: 3 winners (and 1 loser) from Jaguars' Week 5 win vs. Chiefs on Monday Night
Final thoughts
The Jaguars' defense is winning games, in part because of their ability to take the ball away. This is a direct result of their powerhouse linebacker duo of Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd. Considering how down on Lloyd fans and pundits were before the season, this has been a quiet yet solid development that the Jaguars will continue to lean on to win games.