Jaguars' 2022 third-round pick will get a chance with Foyesade Olukoun out

If you thought the Jacksonville Jaguars couldn't sink lower after the loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, you were wrong (guilty as charged). Not only did they fall to the Buffalo Bills in an embarrassing fashion but they did it on national TV. To make matters worse, they lost several players to injury.

During the 47-10 loss to the Bills, cornerback Jarrian Jones, right tackle Anton Harrison, linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, and wide receiver Gabe Davis left with injuries. One day after the game, head coach Doug Pederson provided updates for every single one of them.

"Jarrian is kind of as tolerated with his shoulder. Everything medically this morning, his checkup, and things were good, it's just going to be as tolerated with him," Pederson told the media.

Jones, a third-round pick in this year's draft was filling in for Darnell Savage in the slot. He appeared in 57 defensive snaps in Week 2 but left the Monday Night game nearly immediately. Regarding Harrison, Pederson says he re-injured his knee and they're going to take it day-to-day with him.

"Anton, it's his knee, same one he injured the week before. He's just gonna be day to day this week. So we gotta be careful with him to make sure he's feeling good going into Sunday."

When it comes to Davis, Pederson says he suffered a shoulder injury. Like Harrison, the fifth-year wideout will be day-to-day. On the other hand, Pederson didn't sound overly optimistic about Oluokun, who suffered a foot injury.

"Gabe, his shoulder. At the end, it's just something that he's, again, day to day, but, but should be fine for the game. And then Foye, it's his foot. His is probably more week-to-week right now. There's a chance that he misses this football game."

Later the same day, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported that Oloukun will miss several games as he deals with plantar fasciitis. The good news is that he won't need surgery but the Jags will be without one of their mainstays of defense for an extended period of time.

A sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft, Oluokun signed with the Jags in 2022, the year they made the playoffs and won the AFC South. Even though the team missed the postseason the following season, the Yale product still played at a high level, which is why he got a contract extension.

During Oluokun's absence, Chad Muma will step into a bigger role. The 2022 third-round pick made strides in the offseason and was part of the Jacksonville rotation at linebacker. Against the Bills, he logged 27 defensive snaps and seven total tackles. For the season, the former Wyoming Cowboy has appeared on 50 snaps, registering 10 total tackles.

The silver lining is that Darnell Savage will likely return to the lineup in Week 4. He's been dealing with a quad injury and has missed the past two bouts. During his absence, Jones played in the slot.

On the other hand, tight end Evan Engram remains day-to-day after suffering a hamstring injury during warmups right before the Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

This could be the last opportunity the Jaguars give to Chad Muma

The Chad Muma pick in 2022 raised eyebrows across the league. The reason is that the team's brass had already signed Foyesade Oluokun in free agency earlier that year and drafted fellow linebacker Devin Lloyd two rounds earlier. Then again, the selection made sense from a "best player available" perspective.

The reasoning was that if Muma was the highest-graded prospect still on the board when the Jags were on the clock, they couldn't pass on him.

Muma filled in for Lloyd when the latter got benched in 2022. However, he returned to the sidelines after suffering a knee injury late in the year. Heading into 2023, the coaching staff made it clear Lloyd was the unquestioned starter next to Oluokun.

Still, Muma got a chance when Lloyd got hurt early in the season. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to make the most out of it and didn't do much of note the rest of 2023. The good news is that the Denver, Colorado native made strides in the offseason. That helped him earn snaps in a rotation behind Oluokun and Lloyd.

With Oluokun out for the foreseeable future, Muma will have a chance (probably his last) to show he "has it." It will be up to him to take advantage of it and help the Jaguars right the ship. If he does, he could end up giving the coaching staff a hard decision.

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