Entering the 2021 season, second-year edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson had a lot to prove. A first-round pick in 2020, Chaisson only totaled 19 tackles and a sack despite playing in every game. He only made three starts on the season.
With new defensive coordinator Joe Cullen bringing a new 3-4-based scheme, Chaisson was expected to find success playing the same standup edge rushing role he played in college at LSU.
But while the return to a more natural position helped his counterpart, Josh Allen (who had a sack in Week 1), Chaisson was once again largely an afterthought. Despite making the start, he only played on 47% of defensive snaps, totaling just two tackles in the process.
Meanwhile, free-agent acquisition Jihad Ward continues to impress. Ward was added to provide depth to the edge-rushing group, but he has outperformed Chaisson, both during the preseason and in the first game of the regular season.
Ward was on the field for more time than Chaisson last week despite coming off the bench, and that resulted in a four-tackle game in which he also put a hit on the quarterback. Ward followed up a solid preseason in which he totaled a sack with another sound performance against the Texans, and it’s raising some questions about who should be starting on the edge.
Chaisson was drafted by the previous regime, but as one of the products of the Jalen Ramsey trade, the Jaguars really need him to become a contributor to help save face. Still, with the way he’s playing right now, it’s hard to argue Ward doesn’t give the defense a better chance.
What do you think, Jags fans? Should coach Urban Meyer make a change at edge rusher in favor of Ward? Let us know in the poll below.
