This Jaguars’ rookie is reportedly competing with Ezra Cleveland for the team’s starting left guard role.
Ezra Cleveland was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ starting left guard last season, but according to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, he is now competing for that job with rookie Wyatt Milum.
DiRocco recently highlighted five Jaguars players with “something to prove in 2025,” and included on that list was Cleveland.
Here is a snippet of what DiRocco had to say about the competition between Cleveland and Milum.
“Milum started 43 games at left tackle for the Mountaineers and didn’t allow a sack in his final two seasons, but he projected as a guard in the NFL and the Jaguars are having him compete with Cleveland at left guard to be the starter,” DiRocco wrote.
However, as of now, Cleveland does still have the upper hand when it comes to being the Jaguars’ Week 1 starter at left guard.
“Cleveland certainly has the early edge,” added DiRocco, “but the fact that the Jaguars want him pushed by someone who did not play inside in college should put him on notice.”
As DiRocco noted, Cleveland performed well last season by ESPN’s metrics, ranking 27th among all guards in pass-block win rate and eighth in run-block win rate.
Milum played left tackle at West Virginia, where he put together a dominant stretch to end his career. During his final three seasons, Milum didn’t surrender a sack, according to PFF, and only gave up 15 pressures in that span of games.
In 2024, Milum ranked sixth among all tackles in pass-blocking efficiency, and he was third in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
Both Liam Coen and James Gladstone have emphasized the need for improved offensive line play this season, and to help cultivate that, competition–with six new additions made up front this offseason–is going to play a key role.
