4 Jacksonville Jaguars who are next in line to be Pro Bowl players

2. Jacksonville Jaguars player in line to make the Pro Bowl: Foye Oluokun

Linebacker was one of the Jaguars’ biggest needs last offseason and they spared no expenses to address it. Besides using a couple of draft picks to select Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, they signed Foyesade Oluokun in free agency.

It’s rare — but not unheard of — to see teams give off linebackers top-market money unless they’re Bobby Wagner or Luke Kuechly, so it was kind of puzzling to see the Jaguars give Oluokun a three-year deal worth $49 million. In hindsight, it was money well spent, as the Yale product became a mainstay of the Jacksonville defense and was named team captain before the start of the 2022 season, showing how much his teammates respected him.

Oluokun’s first season in Duval was a successful one, registering 184 total tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, two sacks, and five passes defensed. Furthermore, this was the second year in a row he led the NFL in total tackles, having logged 192 the previous season. While it’s true that Olukon wasn’t particularly great in coverage, he was pretty good against the run, registering a Pro Football Focus run grade of 69.8.

Only three linebackers have been selected to the Pro Bowl in Jaguars history, two — Paul Posluszny and Telvin Smith — over the last ten years (the other one was Kevin Hardy in 1999). If Oluokun has another productive year, he might very well be the fourth one to get the nod.