Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd’s rookie season got off to a good start, but the 2022 first-round pick wasn’t able to keep things up for the long haul.
Lloyd was the league’s defensive rookie of the month after recording 24 tackles, two interceptions, and six passes defensed last September, but his playing time took a sharp drop after he played at least 92 percent of the team’s defensive snaps over their first nine games. The so-called rookie wall was a big issue for Lloyd, who said this week that it was “a lot on your mind” as well as a lot on a body that wasn’t quite prepared for the rigors of an NFL season.
“Speaking personally from my perspective, my body just wasn’t really up for the task,” Lloyd said, via the team’s website. “I thought it was, but it wasn’t. It started off as the body, then it shifted to the mind – just, really, letting the negative things that people say about me get to me a whole lot. But that’s ‘Welcome to the NFL.’ I will be so much more prepared, understanding now what to expect and truthfully, just remaining in the right spirits.”
While many returning Jaguars were excused from this week’s minicamp, Lloyd remained in Jacksonville in order to continue preparing for what he and the Jaguars hope will be a fuller second season in the NFL.
