Jaguars vs. Falcons: 5 Players to Watch
The Jaguars will exit the plane and step foot on British soil with an underwhelming and disappointing 1-2 record. Many expected the team to be the sure-fire frontrunners for the division but the team’s been sluggish out of the gate. This go around, the Jaguars will play back-to-back weeks in London, first against the Atlanta Falcons and then the Buffalo Bills.
Let’s worry about Atlanta first; here are my five Jaguars players to watch Sunday morning.
TE Evan Engram
After a wildly successful 2022 in which Evan Engram revitalized his career, Engram has caught fire and kept himself ablaze in his second season with the Jaguars. Engram currently leads the Jaguars in receptions and also leads all tight ends in yards after the catch with 130 yards.
This week, the Jaguars face the Atlanta Falcons, a team that has historically failed to adequately cover tight ends, especially good ones. Sadly for Falcons’ fans, Engram is about as good as it gets. Engram’s been Trevor Lawrence’s favorite target so far this year and I don’t see that changing Sunday morning across the pond.
OL Luke Fortner
Luke Fortner was one of my favorite players coming out of the 2022 NFL Draft. His experience and level of play in college theoretically should have boded well when transitioning to the NFL.
As of yet, that hasn’t been the case, however, he’s still very young and is under a lot of pressure as a young center. This weekend, Fortner will likely see a lot of Grady Jarrett and maybe some of former Jaguar Calais Campbell. It’ll be important for Fortner to play well to keep Lawrence upright and the Jaguars’ offense going.
DL Folorunso Fatukasi
Folorunso Fatukasi was signed in the 2022 offseason to be a building block along the defensive line, creating pressure on the quarterback but more specifically to excel as a run-defender. Fatukasi, unfortunately, has been plagued by injuries for most of his tenure in Jacksonville and hasn't been as reliable as the team had hoped.
That said, this year Fatukasi has helped a banged up defensive line find themselves 6th in run defense, allowing just 3.4 yards per carry. With one of the NFL’s strongest rushing threats led by rookie Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier on deck, Fatukasi and the rest of the defensive line will have to play their best game yet.
LB Chad Muma
Devin Lloyd started off his rookie season hot but was soon humbled by the difficulty of the NFL. In stepped fellow rookie Chad Muma, who played fairly well while Lloyd figured out a way to get back onto the field after being benched. Fast forward a year later and Lloyd is named the 2023 starter, while Muma hasn’t seen much playing at all. In three games, Muma has seen just 20 snaps.
That will have to change this weekend as the Falcons will try to force Robinson and Allgeier down the Jaguar defense’s throats. With that in mind, expect heavier boxes Sunday from Mike Caldwell’s defense. Muma will have a big opportunity to show up as it might be his toughest task yet.
CB Darious Williams
Darious Williams was a target of scrutiny for parts of last year as the recently signed cornerback struggled playing primarily in the slot. After an injury to Shaq Griffin, however, that all changed sliding Williams to the outside where he thrived and has resided ever since.
This past Sunday, however, wasn’t his best showing as two secondary miscommunications led to two huge players from the Texans, specifically rookie phenom Tank Dell. Dell exploded in Jacksonville and in part it was due to the defensive errors. Williams was one who was behind some of those miscues. A veteran staple of the Jaguars secondary, no doubt expect Williams to bounce back even if it may be against the Falcons’ Drake London or Kyle Pitts.
