Bengals Claim Jaguars 2021 4th Rounder Jay Tufele

How many players a team has claimed during the first waiver wire period of each season normally says a lot about where they are in their build towards a championship. 

For the Jaguars, that means Wednesday's waiver wire shows the Jaguars have a ways to go to build up their depth and the bottom of their roster. 2021 fourth-round pick Jay Tufele ended up being the lone Jaguar claimed on Wednesday, with the Cincinnati Bengals claiming him with the No. 31 priority spot in the waiver wire. 

There were not many chances for Jay Tufele to make an impact as a rookie. A fourth-round pick (No. 106 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft, out of Southern California, Tufele played sparingly for the Jaguars before an injury in the middle of the year, playing just 13 snaps in his lone active game in Week 5. Tufele was activated for Week 6 vs. the Dolphins and was slated to have a role in the defensive rotation, but he sustained a hand injury during pre-game drills and would later require surgery.

Tufele played 41 snaps in three games during the final six weeks of the season, but he was never a starter, with the Jaguars instead attempting to get something out of former first-round bust Taven Bryan. Bryan ended up having just one standout game, leaving Tufele's time on the bench mostly a waste.

The Salt Lake City native opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns after his sister was hit hard by the virus. In his previous two years, Tufele recorded 65 tackles (36 solo) with the Trojans, including 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. In 2019, he earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors and won USC Defensive Lineman of the Year for the second consecutive season when he recorded 42 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss. In 2018, Tufele posted 23 tackles and was named to Phil Steele’s All-Pac-12 Second Team

Tufele is the second draft pick from the 2021 class who is no longer with the Jaguars, also joining sixth-round receiver Jalen Camp. Fellow fourth-round pick Jordan Smith is on injured reserve after a knee injury during OTAs. 

"When you look around this league and what offenses are doing, they are playing a lot of 11 personnel. Some of the 12 personnel – that second guy is built more like a receiver. Teams are even in big nickel or nickel defense a lot," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday when asked about Tufele's release and the team's think defensive tackle depth. 

"There are not a ton of reps or snaps during a game for big guys like that. I like the versatility that we have on the defensive front with Foley [Fatukasi] and Roy [Robertson-Harris]. There are a lot of combinations that can take the place if DaVon has to come out. I am happy where we are, I love that group and I’m excited for them to play.”