Josiah Deguara Signs With Jaguars; Here’s Next Man Up

A third-round pick by the Packers in 2020, Josiah Deguara saw a diminished role in 2023.

Author:
Bill Huber
Mar 28, 2024

In this story:

Josiah Deguara

Green Bay Packers

NFL Free Agency

Henry

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers drafted Josiah Deguara in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In free agency in 2024, they had no interest in bringing him back.

On Thursday, Deguara agreed to a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.

Deguara was part of a string of third-round disappointments, starting with Montravius Adams in 2017, Oren Burks in 2018 and Jace Sternberger in 2019, and continuing with Deguara in 2020 and Amari Rodgers in 2021. He missed most of his rookie season with a torn ACL, but showed some promise in 2021, when he played 367 snaps and caught 25 passes.

However, those numbers dipped to 258 snaps and 14 catches in 2022 and 196 snaps and eight catches in 2023. Not even the change at quarterback, with Jordan Love replacing Aaron Rodgers, could change his fate.

Lat season, he caught four passes in Game 4 against Detroit. He added one catch for 7 yards in Game 8 against the Rams. And that was it. Over the final nine games of the regular season and the two playoff games, he wasn’t targeted a single time in the passing game.

When Deguara was drafted out of Cincinnati, the comparison was to 49ers Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk. When the teams met in the divisional playoffs in January, Deguara played three snaps on offense while Juszczyk played 26. Including playoffs, Deguara had 65 receiving yards. In the NFC Championship and Super Bowl alone, Juszczyk had 64.

The last two seasons, Deguara played 454 snaps on offense. His versatility was an asset, with those snaps split relatively evenly between tight end, fullback and slot receiver. When in the backfield, he was a quality lead blocker; the team averaged more yards per carry with Deguara on the field than off the field. Plus, he finished third on the team in special-teams snaps.

“I want to do as much for the team as I can and, if that’s lining up in every spot possible, I'll do that,” Deguara said during training camp. “I enjoy my role. Obviously, I have to dive into the playbook and make sure I'm on my game, because I can be in there in any personnel [package], any formation. I have to know the playbook like the back of my hand. I know the team trusts me to be able to do that.”

Henry Pearson an undrafted free agent last year out of Appalachian State, is the heir apparent, though the team surely will bring in some sort of competition.

The Packers clearly like Pearson. When he suffered a knee injury during training camp, the Packers could have given him an injury settlement and wished him well with whatever was next. Instead, they kept him through camp and added him to the practice squad after final cuts. He got to practice for most of the season and got into two games, with a total of 11 snaps on offense and 23 on special teams against Detroit and Kansas City late in the season.

In college, he was an all-Sun Belt Conference pick as a senior in 2022, when he caught 25 passes for 329 yards and five touchdowns. Among the touchdowns was the game-winner in an upset of Texas A&M. His 623 offensive snaps included 393 as a traditional tight end, 133 in the backfield and 91 in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.

At 6-foot-2 3/8 and 249 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.80 seconds.