5 players the Jacksonville Jaguars were right to move on from in 2022

No. 3 player the Jaguars were right to move on from – Taven Bryan, DT.

The Jaguars had a dominant defense in 2017 but they thought that they could be even better with the addition of defensive tackle Taven Bryan, whom they selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. At the time, they got positive grades for the selection but the former Florida Gator was never able to live up to expectations during his four-year stint in Duval.

As a rookie, Bryan played every game but started just one, logging 20 total tackles, three tackles for a loss, and one sack. Since some players need more time to get acclimated to the NFL, his lack of impact in Year 1 wasn’t a cause for concern but he didn’t improve much in 2019 despite the fact that he made eight starts, registering 33 total tackles, five tackles for a loss and a measly two sacks.

Things got so bad by 2020, that Bryan was benched in favor of undrafted free agent Doug Costin. That year, the former first-round pick made just half a sack and 10 total tackles, putting his job security in question ahead of the 2021 season. In the end, he made the team and even had a career performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9, logging two sacks and two tackles for a loss. Nevertheless, he didn’t do much of note for the remainder of the year and reverted back to his old self.

The Jags wanted Bryan to succeed and gave him many opportunities to do so but after four seasons, they could no longer justify keeping him around and once the defensive tackle became a free agent, he signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns, where he’ll try to resuscitate his NFL career.