4 most controversial Jacksonville Jaguars entering the 2022 season

No. 2 Jaguars most controversial player in 2022: K’Lavon Chaisson, OLB

Here’s another member of the Jaguars’ 2020 draft class, the last one Dave Caldwell oversaw. At the time, taking K’Lavon Chaisson with the 20th overall pick made sense. Although he was a bit unpolished coming out of college, he was going to be able to develop behind Yannick Ngakoue, Josh Allen, and Calais Campbell.

But that plan was tossed out of the window when the Jags traded Ngakoue and Campbell, pressing Chaisson into the starting lineup and putting him in a suboptimal situation. To nobody’s surprise, the player known as Swiper failed to make an impact as a rookie, logging a measly one sack, 19 total tackles, and three tackles for a loss. He did finish the year on a high note, recording 21 pressures in the last seven games. But it’s fair to say Jacksonville probably expected more.

After playing with his hand on the ground in his first NFL season, Chaisson was moved to strong linebacker last year, hoping he would have more success rushing the quarterback from a two-point stand. However, the switch didn’t improve his performance and ended the 2021 season with just one sack and three tackles for a loss.

With Travon Walker expected to start opposite Josh Allen in 2022, Chaisson will step back into a reserve role and will have fewer opportunities to make an impact. While it’s too early to give on him, the former LSU Tiger is running out of time to show he can live up to his draft billing.