Could Jack Kiser become the Jaguars’ linebacker of the future?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — I’m not sure there’s a player in this year’s NFL Draft that checks the “intangibly rich” box better than Jack Kiser. It’s of no surprise that Jaguars’ GM James Gladstone pulled the trigger on Notre Dame’s Mike linebacker.

Team Captain? Check. Academic All-American? Check. Notre Dame’s Special Teams Player of the Year? Check. National Championship appearance? Check.

If that’s not enough, Kiser also set the school record for most games played (70). Over his collegiate career, Kiser totaled 275 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, six sacks, four interceptions, and six forced fumbles.

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For further context, two of his interceptions turned out to be pick-sixes. According to Pro Football Focus, Kiser was solid in coverage. He allowed just a 66.7% completion rate, scoring within the 87th percentile among FBS linebackers.

He also happens to be a pretty good athlete, scoring a 7.68 RAS. It’s his experience, tackling, and versatility that are most intriguing, at least at this moment in time.

Kiser, 24, has played a lot of ball and helped lead his team to a National Championship appearance. One of the reasons he’s been so effective at linebacker is his tackling.

Since 2019, only one linebacker has a lower career missed tackle rate than Kiser. Last season, Kiser ranked fifth among 236 FBS linebackers in missed tackle rate (4.6%).

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If potentially paired with Devin Lloyd one day, the Jaguars would have two of the surest tacklers in the National Football League. For now, Kiser likely competes for a spot on special teams, something he’s had a lot of experience with.

Kiser saw nearly 1,000 snaps on special teams in college. It’s for this reason that he was named Notre Dame’s Special Teams Player of the Year in 2023.

It’s doubtful Kiser sees much playing time in 2025 as Foye Oluokun and Lloyd are set to return as the Jaguars’ starting linebackers, however, the opportunity is always there if an injury or two were to occur.

At the very least, however, Kiser should find himself a spot on Special Teams with his eyes set to replace either Oluokun or Lloyd in the coming years.

Lloyd is set to hit Free Agency at the conclusion of the 2025 season and Oluokun could be a cap casualty with his nearly $17 million cap hit. Jack Kiser might just be the Jaguars linebacker of the future.

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