One of the Indianapolis Colts' AFC South rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, is getting a lot of appreciation this offseason. What's odd is that the Jags, while they have been a thorn in the side of Indy for years, especially when the Colts play in Jacksonville, have a roster that seems worse this coming season than last.
Jacksonville saw running back Travis Etienne Jr. sign with the New Orleans Saints in free agency, and doesn't really have a player ready to replace him. Even potentially worse, linebacker Devin Lloyd signed with the Carolina Panthers as a free agent, and he was one of the keys to a good Jaguars defense.
The problem for Jacksonville is compounded by the fact that they seemingly had no backup plan if Lloyd left. The Second-Team All-Pro last season had five interceptions from his inside linebacker position in 2025, and 10 quarterback hits. One of his picks, he returned 99 yards for a touchdown.
The Indianapolis Colts should be facing a weakened Jacksonville Jaguars without Devin Lloyd
Not having Lloyd anymore is likely going to make Jacksonville's defense worse, and his potential replacements, Ventrell Miller or undrafted free agent Branson Combs, are an extremely underwhelming duo.
Miller has spent two seasons in the league and started nine games as a rookie in 2024. He performed so poorly, though, that he made only two starts last season. He does offer decent coverage skills, but while he doesn't miss many tackles, he also isn't the most aggressive in pursuit.
While he was involved in 38 tackles in 2025, he somehow managed to be more involved in combined tackles (21) than solo tackles (17). In other words, once one of his teammates begins to wrap up a ball-carrier is when Miller can catch up to the play.
As for Combs, he is allegedly a good athlete, but he is slightly underweight for an off-ball linebacker. He weighs slightly less than 230 pounds, and one might wonder how well he can hold up physically on a week-to-week basis.
What is obvious is that neither Miller nor Combs is the kind of player capable of replacing Lloyd's production. While some still think the Jaguars can make the playoffs, they aren't better than they were in 2025.
This should be good news for the Indianapolis Colts, of course. Indy will need to get past the Jags to get to the postseason, or, obviously, to have a chance at the AFC South title for the first time since 2014. If that happens, general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen will likely keep their jobs, while Jacksonville tries to figure out what went wrong.
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