The 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Could Come Out of Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Jaguars are off to a hot start in 2025. The team is at a 4-1 record, coming off a huge win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The roster has also created an identity, one that was frankly nonexistent before the addition of head coach Liam Coen in January. Jacksonville has always been a defensive-minded team in its history, whether you look at the late 1990s with defensive lineman Tony Brackens and linebacker Kevin Hardy leading a top-five defense and the team to a 14-2 record in 1999, or the notorious 2017 Sacksonville defense that led the team to an AFC Championship appearance against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. That mindset has returned with these 2025 Jaguars, despite Liam Coen being an offense-minded coach and a former offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fans have already nicknamed this unit “Strapsonville”, due to leading the league with 14 takeaways this season. While there have been many contributors to the shockingly strong defensive performance in Duval County, there is one player who has stood out above the rest and has inserted his name as a strong candidate for winning the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.
That player is none other than the Jaguars’ 2021 first-round selection out of Utah in linebacker Devin Lloyd. In April, Jacksonville declined Lloyd’s fifth-year option on his rookie contract, meaning he will be a free agent at the conclusion of this season. At the time, the team cited that the inconsistency in his play in prior seasons was a main contributor to declining the option. Now, just six months later, that decision is looking quite bad for the Jaguars’ front office. Lloyd leads the league with four interceptions in just five games, including a 99-yard pick-six off of superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Week Five. Lloyd also has four pass deflections, already half of his season high, and 25 tackles. He has been a difference maker and a leader for this Jaguars defense, two qualities that are typically crucial for a Defensive Player of the Year winner. However, Lloyd does have competition. Detroit Lions lineman Aidan Hutchinson already has five sacks coming off a season-ending injury last season, and other names like Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett, and T.J. Watt are always in the mix. Jacksonville also doesn’t have history on its side, as the Jaguars have never had a player win an MVP, offensive, or defensive award. They have not even had a Rookie of the Year before. Lloyd will try and be the first to get Jacksonville on the board.
Heading into 2025, there were a lot of questions surrounding the Jaguars. There were concerns ranging from their head coach and front office to whether the defensive line could return to its former glory and become elite. However, fans won’t have to worry about proving the defensive doubters wrong, as the players have done their job just fine. Will this defense be as notorious as units like Sacksonville? Probably not. Will this defense still be extremely entertaining to watch? Absolutely.
