JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Linebacker Devin Lloyd was so excited after he returned an interception for a 99-yard touchdown that when he got back to the Jacksonville Jaguars sideline he said ... nothing.
"He didn't have anything to say," receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter said. "He was too tired."
"That was a long, long way," Lloyd said after the game.
It was the longest defensive touchdown in Jaguars' history and the longest touchdown so far in the NFL in 2025.
It's also a good indication of just how far Lloyd has come in his career. Nine months ago, the 27th overall pick in 2022 was on the verge of being labeled a bust, a player who kept getting out of position in the run game and lost in coverage.
Now he's the AFC Defensive Player of Month for September, the Jaguars' defensive MVP to this point of the season, and an early front-runner for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
"Devin has been in this building with these defensive coaches, I would say more than any other player in this organization, especially on the defensive side of the ball since we got here," head coach Liam Coen said. "He had a phenomenal summer. He came back in great shape, had a good training camp, and he's been playing with a chip on his shoulder.
"He has been playing with a chip on his shoulder to prove not just to us and to his teammates, but I'm sure to a lot of other people, but really for himself, for self-respect, for pride."
Lloyd's pick-six of Patrick Mahomes on Monday night was one of the key plays in the Jaguars' 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
He faked a blitz, dropped back into coverage, and slid to his left in front of Mahomes' pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. He shook off Travis Kelce's arm tackle, evaded a diving Mahomes, broke Kareem Hunt's tackle, and got a block from Josh Hines-Allen to go the final 30 yards to give the Jaguars a 21-14 lead with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter.
That was Lloyd's fourth interception in his last four games, equaling the same number of interceptions he had in his first three seasons, and the first touchdown of his NFL career. It also was his NFL-leading fifth turnover of the season, giving him more than a third of the Jaguars' NFL-high 14.
"It was just a great call," Lloyd said. "It was a zero look, and I was able to pop out. We know the ball is coming out quick, so it's really about me getting my eyes back and getting in the right vicinity.
"So, the ball was right there, thankfully, and picked up a couple blocks. Those were big. I don't know if I would have made it if I didn't get those. Grateful for everybody who helped me get into the end zone."
Devin Lloyd jumps in front of Travis Kelce for an interception and returns it 99 yards for a Jaguars touchdown.
Lloyd's career renaissance comes after three seasons in which he had sporadic success under coordinators Mike Caldwell and Ryan Nielsen. Lloyd did win Defensive Rookie of the Month in September 2022 after recording 24 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups, but ended up getting benched for a couple games later that season for fellow rookie Chad Muma.
He started 31 games in 2023-24 but struggled in pass coverage and run fits, per multiple sources inside the organization, and the Jaguars -- under new executive VP of football operations Tony Boselli and general manager James Gladstone -- declined to pick up his fifth-year option in April.
If he continues to play at a high level, Lloyd could end up as one of the most sought-after free agents in March. The Jaguars could use the franchise tag on him, but OverTheCap.com projects that to be $27.5 million -- which would be the highest on the team, ahead of Trevor Lawrence ($24 million) and Hines-Allen's ($23.4 million).
Lloyd isn't thinking that far ahead, though.
"It's definitely about living in the moment, finding ways to get better every day," he said. "Was able to have success last month, and we were able to pull out this win [Monday]. Obviously made some plays. Everybody made a lot of big plays.
"For me, it's just about taking it one day at a time, finding ways to improve, remaining humble and knowing what areas of my game I have to improve at."
Right now he's flourishing in Campanile's aggressive defensive scheme. He's being used more as a pass rusher in 2025: His 38 pass-rush snaps so far equal last season's total and he's on pace for 129, which would be a career high. He already has 10 QB pressures -- five off his career high -- and his pressure rate (26.3%) is the highest of his career.
"He is a great fit for what we do," Campanile said. "He can play off the ball early down because he sees it pretty good. He can run and hit. He does a good job in the pass coverage, and then if you want to use him as a pass rusher he has the ability to do that. So, I don't think there's that many guys that have that unique skillset where they're a three-down guy.
"... And he's worked so hard. Just everything that he does fundamentally every day is showing up in the games and he really has done a great job building up a lot of that in his skillset over the course of the last few months."
Lloyd and the Jaguars defense face a tough task on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, which ranks in the top eight in the NFL in scoring (26.4 points per game), passing (1,227) and total yards (1,792).
But he'll be up to it, Hines-Allen said.
"He continues to show up each and every week," Hines-Allen said. "I see it in practice. I see it in the locker room, just him getting the treatment and how much he's putting into his body. True professional, and I can't wait to continue to see him grow."