Jaguars bolster LB corps with addition of Foyesade Oluokun

The Jacksonville Jaguars are sitting out the tampering period of free agency and have made several additions to their roster, one of them on defense, with the addition of former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Jags and Oluokun have agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with $28 million fully guaranteed at signing. His 192 total tackles led the league last season. Last season, he posted a Pro Football Focus tackling grade of 76.6 and has made a tackle on 16.6 percent of his defensive snaps, the highest rate in the league since 2018.

A sixth-round pick out of Yale by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2018 draft, Oluokun has appeared in 64 games with 41 starts and has logged 462 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, five interceptions (three of them last year), and seven forced fumbles over the last four years. The linebacker earned a bigger contract than the four-year $40 million one that PFF projected but the Jaguars just got an off-linebacker to play alongside Myles Jack, so this could end up being money well-spent.

Foyesade Oluokun gives Jaguars DC Mike Caldwell a playmaker at LB.

Damien Wilson signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars last season and went on to register the first interception of his NFL career. Not only that, he became a key cog on defense and gave former defensive coordinator Joe Cullen someone to deploy in blitz packages. However, he’s a free agent and after the addition of Foyesade Oluokun, it’s unlikely that he will return to Jacksonville.

On the other hand, Oluokun gives Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell an enforcer that should improve a run defense that ranked 23rd in yards allowed and 29th in points scored last year. While Cullen’s unit did a good job of clogging up running lanes early in the 2021 season, they gave up 100 or more in seven of the last nine games. It’s clear the Jags’ coaching staff wants to fix that and Oluokun should help them.

So far, the Jaguars have been busy in free agency. They intend to sign offensive guard Brandon Scherff and have reportedly agreed to a four-year deal with wide receiver Christian Kirk that will pay him around $18 million per year. Stay tuned, as it doesn’t look like the Jags’ brass isn’t done just yet. In fact, they might be just getting started.