Devin
Lloyd.
Devin
Lloyd.
Utah· 6'3"· 237 lb· 4.66s 40
"Utah's do-everything Mike put up 22 tackles for loss and two pick-sixes in 2021, the rare off-ball linebacker no modern offense could scheme off the field."Pre-draft read
Lloyd played every linebacker job Utah had: off-ball Mike, rover walked down over the slot, designated blitzer off the edge. At 6-3, 237, he triggered downhill with unusual decisiveness — eyes on the guard, one read, then a violent arrival. That trigger produced 22 tackles for loss in 2021, a number linebackers do not reach without being right early and often.
The second skill was coverage. He carried tight ends up the seam, read routes with his eyes on the quarterback and turned four 2021 interceptions into two touchdowns. Against the run he took on pullers with his hands rather than his shoulder. The signature was range with intent: he covered ground sideline to sideline and finished plays instead of cleaning up.
Modern nickel-heavy defense that keeps two linebackers on the field and lets the Mike blitz on passing downs.
Year 1: every-down starting Mike who green-dots the defense. Ceiling: All-Pro three-down linebacker with 100 tackles and takeaway production.
Two-gap front that parks him behind a nose tackle and asks him to take on lead blockers head-up instead of running to the ball.
His value comes from being allowed to attack downhill and match routes, not from stacking blocks.
Utah LB Devin Lloyd Career Highlights
Career reel showing the downhill trigger, blitz timing and coverage range that made him the class's top off-ball linebacker.
Devin Lloyd's Top Plays Of The 2021 Season
Pac-12 cut of his Defensive Player of the Year season, including both pick-sixes.
Pac-12 DPOY: Utah LB Devin Lloyd NFL Draft Report
Pre-draft film breakdown of his run fits, coverage assignments and first-round case.
Lloyd was the rare modern linebacker who did not force a defense to hide him anywhere. A former high school safety and punter who redshirted, he grew into Utah's defensive centerpiece across four seasons, playing rover in 2019 and full-time Mike after that. The identity: instinctive, rangy, physical, and comfortable in coverage in a class where most linebackers were not.
The 2021 season was the argument. He posted 110 tackles, a Pac-12-leading 22.0 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks and four interceptions with two pick-sixes — the only Power Five player with 15-plus TFL and multiple picks. He won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and graded out as the best coverage linebacker in the conference title game. The flags were modest: he was a 23-year-old senior, he ran 4.66 at the combine rather than the 4.5 some hoped for, and he occasionally over-ran gaps chasing the splash play.
Boards had him as the top off-ball linebacker in the class, roughly a mid-first-round grade, with Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker behind him. Jacksonville, which had already taken Travon Walker first overall, traded up from 33 with Tampa Bay to secure him at 27 — a pick the room framed as filling the defense's brain.
- 01
Trigger and instincts
Read guards and diagnosed run fits before the mesh point, which is how a linebacker gets to 22 tackles for loss in a single season.
- 02
Coverage feel
Carried tight ends up the seam and read the quarterback's eyes underneath, turning four 2021 picks into two return touchdowns.
- 03
Blitz value
Timed pressures from depth and off the edge for 8.0 sacks in 2021, including three in a single win over ranked Arizona State.
- 04
Range
Covered ground sideline to sideline and arrived to finish plays rather than to clean up someone else's tackle at the end of the run.
- 05
Versatility
Played Mike, rover and slot-adjacent roles for Utah, so no personnel package forced the defense to substitute him off the field.
- 01
Long speed
Ran 4.66 at the combine, fine for the position but short of the timed speed that lets a linebacker erase mistakes on the back end.
- 02
Age
He was a 23-year-old fifth-year senior, so the projection was closer to a finished product than to a player with obvious growth left.
- 03
Over-pursuit
Aggressive eyes occasionally carried him past a gap on cutbacks, and misdirection could get him moving the wrong way early.
- 04
Take-on strength
Effective with his hands but not a two-gap thumper, and heavy interior linemen reaching the second level could wall him off.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.66sp50
- Vertical
- 35inp50
- Broad jump
- 126inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 25repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Utah | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Utah | 14 | 91 | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Utah | 5 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021 | Utah | 14 | 110 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| Career | — | 47 | 255 | 16.5 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
2020 and 2021 verified line-by-line on cfbstats. cfbstats has no reachable player page before 2020, so 2018 and 2019 come from Utah's official bio (2018: 14 games, 6 tackles, special teams role; 2019: 14 starts, 91 tackles, 11.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks, one pick-six). Career sacks (16.5) and interceptions (5) match published career totals; career TFL and pass breakups stay null because 2018 splits were never published. Unverified cells are null rather than zero.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Durable high-volume starting Mike whose tackle totals outrun his splash plays.
Three-down green-dot linebacker whose coverage range changes what an offense can call.
First-round off-ball linebacker who started for years without ever tilting a defense.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Devin Lloyd has been a starting linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars, contributing as a tackler and in coverage. He has been a consistent presence in their defense.
Jacksonville put him on the field immediately. He started as a rookie and finished with 115 tackles, three interceptions and PFWA All-Rookie honors, then followed with 127 tackles in 2023, though the splash plays dried up and the defense around him regressed. Coaching changes brought a role tweak in 2024 — 113 tackles, two sacks — and the Jaguars signed him to an extension rather than let the fifth-year question linger. Then 2025 was the payoff: AFC Defensive Player of the Month in September, five interceptions including a 99-yard touchdown return, and second-team AP All-Pro. He signed with Carolina in the 2026 offseason.
The hindsight read is straightforward — this was the right pick. Pick 27 asked whether a 23-year-old, 4.66 linebacker could stay a difference-maker rather than settle into a tackle-count starter, and after a middle stretch that looked like the pessimistic answer, he turned into an All-Pro. Jacksonville traded up for him and got four full seasons of starting play plus one genuinely great one before losing him in free agency.
Data note: from Tampa Bay