Jaguars Mailbag: What Role Should We Expect for Chad Muma?

Each week during this year's season, Jaguar Report will take Jacksonville Jaguars-related questions from our readers across social media and answer them in a question-and-answer format, giving readers a chance to have their voices heard.

You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the Jaguar Report Twitter handle or by submitting them here.

This week, we talk about Chad Muma, the start of training camp and more.

Q: What should we really expect for Chad Muma? Are the majority of his snaps really gonna be special teams or do you think we’ll see more of him than people expect?

A: I do think that the biggest role you should expect to see Chad Muma in will be on special teams. Off-ball linebacker is a position in the NFL where if you aren't a starter, it is just hard to get on the field. This would be different if one of the Jaguars' two starting linebackers was a liability on passing downs and could be subbed out for Muma in nickel and dime packages, but both Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd are three-down linebackers. So unless there are any injuries, I do think we mostly see Muma on special teams.

There could be some packages where the Jaguars try to get all three linebackers on the field, whether that be against heavy formations or even in dime packages where Muma comes onto the field as an extra coverage player. Lloyd has the ability to line up in multiple spots on the field, so the Jaguars could always bring him closer to the line of scrimmage and place Muma at linebacker. While this is a possibility, though, it shouldn't be expected to be a giant part of the defense.

Q: Is there a player(s) that you expect to really shine when the pads come on?

A: Ben Bartch is someone the Jaguars think is due for a big training camp. He impressed them throughout the offseason and during OTAs, with offensive line coach Phil Rauscher remarking that he is physical even with pads off. I think once the pads come on, Bartch will look like a player who is truly taking the third-year jump that most hope will occur for small-school linemen.

I think Roy Robertson-Harris is another name to watch. He drew a lot of praise from the staff and locker room this offseason and he had a really strong stretch of play at the end of 2021 and his blend of strength, size, length, and speed makes him a tough player to block.

Q: Do you have a stat prediction for Trevor Lawrence this year?

A: I am a bit timid to guess stats for Trevor Lawrence after my woeful swing and miss last year when I predicted him to have a Justin Herbert-like rookie season in terms of production. With that said, I think it isn't too far out there to expect for Lawrence to get close to 30 touchdowns this year considering the addition of Doug Pederson, along with Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and Travis Etienne. Pederson knows he was hired to help Lawrence succeed, so I think he won't make the mistake of giving some of Lawrence's easy touchdowns to the running game like the Jaguars did last year. Ultimately, I will go with 29 touchdowns, 3,400 yards, and 10 interceptions.

Q: Did the Jaguars improve more this offseason than the rest of our division?

A: I think it is basically a two-team race in that regard. The Houston Texans didn't improve by any dramatic leaps or bounds on the field or coaching staff, while the Tennessee Titans are arguably worse roster-wise this year than they were entering training camp last year.

The Jaguars are obviously improved simply from the fact that they have replaced Urban Meyer -- one of the worst coaches in the entire history of professional sports -- with a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Doug Pederson. Add in all of the upgrades to wide receiver, guard, defensive line, inside linebacker, tight end, and cornerback and the Jaguars have clearly taken a step forward roster-wise. With that said, the Jaguars had as far to go up as any team in the division, making it a bit easier for them to truly improve.

The Colts belong in the conversation simply because of the upgrade from Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan, along with having a strong draft class. The Jaguars have likely improved more than the Colts since they had more room to grow, but these are thew two teams who have improved the most.

Q: Could Snoop Conner be a sneaky impact player because of James Robinson's injury?? I loved that pick.

A: I think so, at least early on. It really wouldn't surprise me if we saw Snoop Conner get a lot of goal-line work, especially considering how efficient he was in that regard at Ole Miss, scoring the bulk of his career touchdowns from just a few yards out. He presents the power and downhill element of the Jaguars' running game until Robinson returns from injury, so it is fair to expect him to be a genuine piece of the offense until Robinson is back on the depth chart and knocks him down a spot.

Q: The Jaguars have had almost nobody on the ESPN top-10 lists. How concerning is that after all of their spending?

A: You aren't wrong. The Jaguars were almost completely shut out of the ESPN rankings of the top-10 players at each position. Brandon Scherff was the lone Jaguar ranked (No. 3 IOL). Foyesade Oluokun was an honorable mention at linebacker, and Josh Allen received votes at EDGE. Players like Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, Shaquill Griffin, James Robinson, Cam Robinson, Foley Fatukasi, Darious Williams, and Rayshawn Jenkins were not listed, which isn't ideal for the Jaguars considering those are either the highest-paid players on the roster or the best overall players.

I wouldn't call it concerning for now, though. The Jaguars have only won four games in the last two seasons, so any player who reps their logo is going to see themselves get knocked down a peg in rankings like this. Then there is the fact that the Jaguars paid big money in free agency for solid players, not elite ones. Scherff is the exception, but the Jaguars are still looking for blue-chip players.

Q: Who is being underrated before training camp? Overrated?

A: Underrated? I will go with center Tyler Shatley. He has been looked at as a backup for most of his career since he has had to share the center position with Brandon Linder, who was a legit top-10 center in the NFL, but he can play, too. Shatley has always been solid when thrown into the fire at either center or guard for the Jaguars, and I think he is set to have a good first season as a starting center.

Overrated? This is tough. I don't want to say Travis Etienne is being overrated before camp because he genuinely had a terrific spring and looks like his old self in terms of speed, but I have seen how early he is going in some fantasy drafts. For a player whose pass blocking is still a major question mark, I wonder if he will put up the production those outside of Jacksonville are hoping he does.

Q: If we give Jaguars players a pass for the Urban Meyer era, we should give Trent Baalke a pass for 2021 too. Thoughts?

A: This isn't the first time I have had this question posed to me, and I do get where the logic is coming from. Urban Meyer was genuinely the worst coach in NFL history, in my eyes, and it is tough for anyone but Meyer to take the bulk of the blame for how bad the Jaguars were last season.

But I still come back around to some of the moves the Jaguars made last year before Meyer even held his first practice. The lone skill players the Jaguars added in free agency last year were Marvin Jones, Chris Manhertz, Carlos Hyde, and Phillip Dorsett. Hyde and Dorsett are no longer on the roster, while Manhertz caught just six passes as a blocking tight end.

Then you can add in the fact the Jaguars ran it back with the entirety of the offensive line instead of looking to upgrade any of the five spots from the 2020 season, and the Jaguars' offseason plan to build around Trevor Lawrence was ... odd. And this doesn't include some of the strange contracts the Jaguars paid out on the defensive side of the ball.

So, yes, Meyer deserves the blame for the Jaguars' 2021 season. Meyer will go down in history books as one of the worst NFL employees ever. But, Baalke does still deserve some criticism for how the roster was constructed.

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