Devin

Lloyd

Hines-Allen left Week 4 with a concussion and did not return. He missed Wednesday’s practice but got in a pair of limited sessions on Thursday and Friday. JHA still has to clear the league’s concussion protocol over the weekend, but the questionable tag at least gives him a shot at doing so. He has one sack and one TFL through four games this year. The Jags also listed safety Darnell Savage and linebacker Devin Lloyd as questionable.

Lloyd was the second of the Jags’ two first-rounders following a trade up with the Bucs. Lloyd (6’3/237) was a first-team AP All-American and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. An athletic super-processor on the field with length for days, Lloyd triggers downhill as fast as anyone in the class and brings a huge tackling radius with him. With the agility of the safety he was earlier in life, Lloyd is a tricky moving target for blockers. Lloyd lives in the backfield and piled up 43 TFLs over 32 starts the past three years. Lloyd is never going to have more than average play strength, and linemen who square him up can put a rep-ending jolt into him. Improved tackling technique will lead to even more tackles. With sideline-to-sideline range and a three-down, scheme-versatile game, Lloyd’s high-end projection would be a Darius Leonard-type impact, though that is obviously not the most likely outcome.

The Bucs acquired the No. 33, 106, and 180 picks. A three-year starter and two-time Butkus Award finalist, Lloyd (6’3/237) was a first-team AP All-American and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in his 2021 swan song. An athletic super-processor on the field with length for days, Lloyd triggers downhill as fast as anyone in the class and brings a huge tackling radius with him. With the agility of the safety he was earlier in life, Lloyd is a tricky moving target for blockers. Lloyd lives in the backfield and piled up 43 TFLs over 32 starts the last three years. Lloyd is never going to have more than average play strength, and linemen who square him up can put a rep-ending jolt into him. Improved tackling technique will lead to even more tackles. So often, Lloyd is in the right place at the right time, but he too often uses his long arms as lassos to drag down opponents instead of accelerating through contact while wrapping, leading to broken arm tackles. With sideline-to-sideline range and a three-down, scheme-versatile game, Lloyd projects as a Darius Leonard-like immediate difference-make for the Jaguars.

Lloyd (6'3/235) being the first linebacker drafted should be no surprise. His dynamic range of skills from being a pass rusher to stopping the run is what a modern-day middle linebacker should be able to do. His odds really haven’t shifted at all in the last month, having been -450 per Draft Kings Sportsbook on April 1st. Where Lloyd ends up going in the draft is incredibly uncertain, but he should be the first linebacker off the board.

Even after his subpar combine testing, Lloyd (6'3/235) still feels like a sure-fire first-round selection. A linebacker that can do it all, Lloyd has excellent instincts and versatility to do a little bit of everything. With positional value, it is worth the selection at seven for Monson. The run of pass rushers before pick five where the Giants selected Ikem Ekwonu lands Lloyd in the Meadowlands where he will be used in a versatile fashion.

That’s a very high spot for Lloyd (6'3"/235), especially after subpar Combine testing knocked him down a few boards. Feldman is unconcerned however, and given what coaches told him, it’s hard to blame him. Most prospects on Feldman’s mock draft got three coach quotes, while Lloyd was given six and they all said the same thing. He’s a freak, instinctual, a leader, an excellent tackler and while he tested slow he’s got sideline-to-sideline ability. Lloyd was incredibly productive for Utah, and has some of the best film around, so much so that his concerning speed is shadowed. Guys with excellent instincts and reading of the game can appear faster than their true speed, and nothing on Lloyd’s tape implies he’ll be too slow for the NFL.

Many have projected that Lloyd (6'3/235) will be taken relatively early in the 2022 NFL Draft and may be the first LB to come off the board. According to PFF, Lloyd had more sacks (14), total pressures (58) and a better pass rush grade (88.7) than any other player at his position in the Pac-12 since 2019.

The linebacker group has evolved quite a bit over the last three months. Once thought to be Nakobe Dean, Lloyd (6'3/235) has overtaken the number one spot across the sportsbooks. His ability to play the run, drop into coverage, and a late developed ability to rush the passer is an intriguing skill set for anyone that needs to add an off-ball linebacker. The aforementioned Dean is currently +250, 700 points behind in the betting odds.

As 29 teams were at Utah’s pro day, the best prospect was unable to work out for them. Lloyd (6'3/235) tweaked his hamstring and was experiencing some tightness so he decided to rest instead of workout for the scouts and personnel in attendance. Luckily for Lloyd, he tested very well at the combine, running in the mid-4.6s and jumping really well in both the broad (10'6") and the vertical (36"). He projects to be a top-20 pick at minimum come April’s draft.

The Saints are going through some changes, as Sean Payton has moved on and Dennis Allen was promoted to head coach. Along with that, the Saints have salary cap issues and have a glaring hole at quarterback. They don’t address QB but they do finally get a running mate for Demario Davis in Lloyd (6'3/235). A true hybrid that some have compared to Micah Parsons, Lloyd thrived in any situation that the Utes put him in and the Saints now have three linebackers that they can feel comfortable with putting on the field.