LAS VEGAS— Former Wyoming Cowboy linebacker Chad Muma was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 70th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft on Friday night. Muma was the sixth pick in the third round of the NFL Draft. Muma becomes the eighth Cowboy selected in the NFL Draft in the past eight seasons since Craig Bohl took over as head coach at Wyoming.
Muma was recognized as one of the top defensive players in college football in 2021. He is coming off a 2021 season in which he was named a Second Team All-American by both the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Pro Football Focus (PFF). He was a Third Team All-America selection by Associated Press.
A native of Lone Tree, Colo., Muma was one of only six national finalists for this year’s Butkus Award, honoring the nation’s best linebacker, and he was one of 18 national semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, recognizing the nation’s outstanding defensive player. For the past two consecutive seasons, Muma was selected First Team All-Mountain West Conference by conference head coaches and media.
Earlier this year, he was selected to and played in the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Muma was also invited to and participated in the 2022 NFL Combine.
Muma ranked No. 3 in the nation in solo tackles (6.5 per game) and ranked No. 4 in the nation in total tackles (10.9 per game) for the 2021 season. He also tied for No. 2 in the nation in interceptions returned for touchdowns, with two “pick sixes” on the year. Muma recorded double figures in tackles in 11 of 13 games during the 2021 season. He was credited with 142 tackles for the 2021 season, which ranks as the fourth best single-season total in school history behind only linebacker Galand Thaxton, who had 158 tackles in 1986 and 143 in 1987, and free safety John Salley, who had 143 tackles in 1982. For his career, Muma totalled 267 career tackles.
He first made his mark as one of the nation’s top linebackers in 2020. He ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 3 in the nation in tackles, averaging 11.8 tackles per game. He also ranked No. 16 in the nation in solo tackles, averaging 5.5 per game. He was selected First Team All-Mountain West by MW head coaches and media in 2020.
Muma helped lead Wyoming to two bowl victories during his Wyoming career -- the 2019 Arizona Bowl Championship and the 2021 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl title.
Muma became the eighth Wyoming Cowboy to be selected in the NFL Draft during the first eight seasons Craig Bohl has been the head coach at Wyoming. The previous NFL Draft picks during the Bohl era include: 2015 Mark Nzeocha, Dallas Cowboys, 7th Round, 19th Pick; 2017 Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons, 5th Round 12th Pick; 2017 Chase Roullier, Washington Commanders, 6th Round 15th Pick; 2018 Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, 1st Round, 7th Pick; 2019 Marcus Epps, Minnesota Vikings, 6th Round, 18th Pick; 2020 Logan Wilson, Cincinnati Bengals, 3rd Round, 1st Pick; 2020 Cassh Maluia, New England Patriots, 6th Round, 25th Pick; and now 2022 Chad Muma, Jacksonville Jaguars, 3rd Round, 6th Pick.
Muma will join 16 other former Wyoming Cowboys who were on NFL rosters at the conclusion of the 2021 NFL season -- some on active rosters and others on developmental squads. That was more than any other Mountain West Conference school.
Those Cowboys and their NFL teams at the end of last season were: Josh Allen (quarterback, Buffalo Bills), Marcus Epps (safety, Philadelphia Eagles), Austin Fort (tight end, Tennessee Titans), Rico Gafford (wide receiver, Denver Broncos), Tanner Gentry (wide receiver, Buffalo Bills), Tashaun Gipson (safety, Chicago Bears), Carl Granderson (defensive end, New Orleans Saints), Tyler Hall (cornerback, Los Angeles Rams), Brian Hill (running back, San Francisco 49ers), Jacob Hollister (tight end, Jacksonville Jaguars), Mark Nzeocha (linebacker, San Francisco 49ers), Mike Purcell (nose tackle, Denver Broncos), Chase Roullier (center, Washington Commanders), Logan Wilson (linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals), Andrew Wingard (safety, Jacksonville Jaguars) and Eddie Yarbrough (defensive end, Minnesota Vikings). Since the end of the 2021 season, Gafford moved to the Green Bay Packers and Hollister moved to the Las Vegas Raiders.
