4 Jacksonville Jaguars facing a make or break preparation period in 2022

No. 3 Jaguars player facing a make-or-break situation: K’Lavon Chaisson

NFL teams tend to exercise patience with first-round picks because of the investment they represent, and why wouldn’t they? Evaluators spent a robust amount of time doing due diligence and getting a prospect wrong reflects poorly on them. Having said that, clubs can’t exercise patience forever and eventually want to see a return on said investment. That’s precisely the situation defensive end/outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson finds himself in right now.

A first-round pick in the 2020 draft, the former LSU Tiger hasn’t lived up to expectations over the last two seasons, appearing in 31 games with 11 starts and registering a measly two sacks and no big plays. Doug Pederson recently told the media Chaisson has a fresh start and wants to see what he brings to the table.

Chaisson currently figures to be part of the defensive front rotation and he won’t likely get plenty of playing time with Travon Walker, Dawuane Smoot, Arden Key, and Josh Allen ahead of him on the depth chart. On the other hand, Swiper can’t just throw in the towel and call it a day. If he shines in the offseason, the coaching staff won’t have a choice but to give him snaps. Also, other teams will be keeping close tabs on how he fares and if he performs well, they could end up trading for him.

Just like Laviska Shenault, Chaisson is under pressure to deliver and while he’s got the talent and the tools to succeed, it’s hard to tell if he will.