Few teams improved as much as the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.
After an NFL-worst 3-14 season in 2021, the Jaguars won the AFC South with a 9-8 record last year before beating the Los Angeles Chargers in a Wild Card Round thriller.
The turnaround was the result of a multitude of things, ranging from the improvement of second-year players, an influx of free agents, and a new coaching staff led by head coach Doug Pederson.
But perhaps nothing influenced the Jaguars' playoff run before than a number of veterans had career seasons on both sides of the ball. This included a big season from free-agent signee Foyesade Oluokun, who led the Jaguars in tackles (184), solo tackles (128), and tackles for loss (12).
In fact, Oluokun's season was so impressive that he earned a nod from Pro Football Focus as the Jaguars' most improved player, beating out other players such as Trevor Lawrence, Jawaan Taylor, Zay Jones, Evan Engram, Rayshawn Jenkins, and Tyson Campbell.
"Eyebrows were raised when the Jaguars handed a big contract to Oluokun this past offseason, but he rewarded the team with his best season since entering the league. He registered 84 tackles resulting in a defensive stop, 36 more than he had in any other season," PFF wrote.
Oluokun finished the year with a PFF grade that was 23.5 points higher than his 2021 grade, a 192-tackle campaign with the Atlanta Falcons that saw him finish with a 47.0 grade.
Oluokun, who the Jaguars signed to a three-year deal worth between $45 million to $46.5 million that carries a guarantee of $28 million at signing, had a better season than most outside of Jacksonville predicted or likely even still give him credit for. But for anyone who watched him operate in 2022, it was clear that he was one of the most integral pieces to Jacksonville's defensive improvement.
Oluokun led the NFL in both solo tackles (128) and total tackles (184). Oluokun’s 18 total tackles in Week 12 against Baltimore and S Rayshawn Jenkins’ 18 total tackles in Week 15 against Dallas were tied for the third most in a single game in the NFL this season. This is the most in franchise history in a single game since 2015
"Really, I think I told the guys this, when I look at it, when you get a linebacker that has 20 tackles, 18 tackles, they got ran through, but when you look at this game, it wasn’t that," Mike Caldwell said after the Ravens game.
"He did a great job of being who he is. He works hard all the time. He runs to the ball at practice. He’s a guy that, he has a feel to find the ball. He did a great job. When it’s time to make plays, he’s a playmaker.”
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