Jacksonville Jaguars Outlook Before Preseason

The Jacksonville Jaguars have now finished their first 10 practice sessions during training camp with preseason right around the corner. After a very decent amount of time being able to witness the Jaguars at practice, I feel like the fans and I have had a good enough look to grasp how each player will look this season. Here I’m going to be giving an overview of how the Jaguars performed and what I expect from their players moving forward. 

To start off we obviously have to talk about the quarterbacks. All of the quarterbacks struggled initially in camp however, Trevor Lawrence has especially started coming along in the past week or so. Trevor has been lighting it up in recent days having multiple rifles for touchdowns with nearly no interceptions, and barely any incompletions such as one outing when Trevor threw for 4 TDs and no turnovers with just 1 incompletion the whole practice. I’m expecting a lot out of the fourth year quarterback as Trevor tries to prove his worth being the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, as well as being worth the first overall pick in 2021. I’d go as far to say that Trevor Lawrence is a dark horse MVP candidate and as long as the Jaguars stay healthy, I very easily can see Trevor leading them on a deep playoff run. However, Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard did not impress whatsoever during camp, so the Jaguars are going to be in big trouble if Sunshine ever goes down. 

As for the running backs, Travis Etienne looks impeccable. ETN led the league in forced missed tackles as well as broken tackles last season, and he clearly still looks like that guy. I expect Travis to be a top five running back moving forward as he looks for a pay day this season. Tank Bigsby also has impressed, seeming like he’s expanded upon his role being utilized a lot more heavily in space as well as a receiving back. The other running backs on the roster are nothing special, but D’Ernest Johnson will likely be a contributor. 

As for the wide receivers, they massively struggled opening up camp, which is why the quarterbacks did not impress, thankfully the receivers have steadily improved. Christian Kirk easily looks like the bona fide top receiver in Jacksonville. The chemistry Trevor has with Kirk has obviously surpassed any other. Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was completely shut down to open up camp, but has made a nice play each day for the past week of training sessions. BTJ has shown steady improvement and I expect him to still be a great weapon for Jacksonville in the future. Gabe Davis has made some nice plays, especially on the boundary, however he has overall been disappointing as I believe the Jaguars were expecting more from their new wide receiver trio. It may still be in the realm of possibility for Jacksonville to seek a trade for a top tier receiver such as Brandon Aiyuk. The depth at receiver has looked fantastic though. Devin Duvernay, who was expected to just be a kick returner has impressed majorly as an offensive weapon every day from the get-go. Duvernay has been used on screens and in space as well as a deep threat for the offense, and I expect him to be a fantastic utility player for the Jaguars this year. Parker, Washington, Elijah Cooks, and Joshua Cephus have also been very reliable as depth for the Jaguars. 

Tight end Evan Engram has established himself as the best receiving option for the Jaguars catching just about everything thrown his way. He was first of all tight ends in receptions last year and I don’t see that changing going into the 2024 season. Last year‘s second round pick Brenton Strange also looks to have improved majorly during the offseason as the Jaguars backup tight end, so Jacksonville should be comfortable having Strange as the successor to Engram in their long term future. 

Moving onto the offensive line, Cam Robinson has been somewhat disappointing at left tackle. On the other hand, backup left tackle walk Little who has had some starting experience looks like he has massively improved over the offseason and I believe a change of starters is coming to Jacksonville. Anton Harrison at right tackle looked like the best offensive lineman on the team while he was practicing, however he is currently in concussion protocol so he disappointingly has missed the past couple practices. The starting interior lineman have looked very good between new center Mitch Morse, and guards Ezra Cleveland and Brandon Scherff. Nonetheless struggles continue as Ezra suffered a minor leg injury on Sunday, and Scherff’s nose was bludgeoned. The question of the Jaguars offensive line unit’s health may be a major concern entering the year with already 3 injuries to starters, even though they may be minor. 

As for the defense, the corner unit has had ups and downs, but overall the starters look fantastic. Tyson Campbell is extremely fluid in drills and I haven’t seen get beat once yet in scrimmages. Campbell genuinely looks like one of the best corners I have ever had the opportunity to see practice and looks like he will live up to the big contract Jacksonville just paid him. New veteran corner Ronald Darby has also performed very well, especially while in press coverage getting physical with the outside receivers and often forcing incompletions or even a turnover. 3rd round rookie out of FSU, Jarrian Jones has been one of the most surprising players of the camp. JJ has been shut down for the most part making multiple athletic pass deflections and getting a couple highlight interceptions. Jarrian Jones looks like he’s going to be a star young player for Jacksonville long term and I’m excited to see the opportunities he gets his rookie year. Darnell Savage’s quickness has been put on full display as a versatile defensive back however I’ve seen him have multiple miscommunications in coverage and has been limited due to previous injuries. The depth behind those four at corner has been extremely lackluster, though the top two guys of the bunch are clearly Montaric Brown, Gregory Junior, and rookie Deantre Prince. 

As for safeties Andre Cisco has looked extremely fluid in all drills and has played next level on the field making multiple tough PBUs and forcing multiple turnovers including a couple pick sixes. Andre even had 3 interceptions just in yesterday’s practice on August 5th (the only ones of the day). Cisco looks ready to take a jump as one of the best safeties in the league as he’s been lockdown, not being thrown to for the most part, and has been a turnover machine whenever he is targeted. I’m expecting a massive year for the fourth year safety and I’m excited to see Cisco in action. Andrew Wingard also massively impressed to open up training camp, however he suffered a knee injury and is reportedly going to miss significant time. This leaves Antonio Johnson, the second year player as the starter alongside Cisco at safety. Jaguars fans should not have any worries though as Antonio has a ton of upside and has looked fantastic in camp as well. Andre Cisco and Antonio Johnson should prove to be one of the league’s best young safety duos right out of the gate. To make up for the loss of Wingard the Jaguars also went out and signed Adrian Amos, who should prove to be great depth as a veteran presence, but he is yet to see the field for Jacksonville and I don’t project him to be the starter over Antonio. 

The linebacker unit for Jacksonville has looked nothing short of exceptional as Foye Oluokun and Devin Lloyd seek to become one of, if not the best middle linebacker duo in the league. Both have already had great years for Jacksonville and Lloyd especially looks to have improved in a big way. The depth at linebacker however has been disappointing as young players such as Chad Muma and Ventrell Miller struggle to impress, or even stay consistent. 

At edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen and Travon Walker look to build upon a fantastic 2023 season in which they led the league in sacks as a duo. Josh has his eyes set on DPOTY and Super Bowl MVP, and Walker wants to compete with him every step of the way as he has made major progressions every season. The depth at edge rusher has been very lackluster disappointingly, especially with De’Shaan Dixon suffering an injury. The Jaguars would be wise to pursue a better rotational option on the edge as I don’t see there being any real contributor behind their two premium starters. 

Finally for the defense, the interior defensive line for the first time since 2017 has looked outstanding for Jacksonville. Arik Armstead hasn’t participated much as he is on the PUP list, but even without their best name the unit has still shown massive improvement. DaVon Hamilton looks juiced up and ready for a comeback season, dominating double blocks and individual drills. The nose tackle should prove to be a massive piece for the defense even if he isn’t necessarily racking up numbers. Roy Robertson-Harris has done his thing as a consistent guy on the interior, as he has been previously for Jacksonville. RRH especially has proven to be a great veteran for the young guys to learn from. Now I get to talk about the big ticket to why this Jaguars defensive line is going to be truly terrifying beyond imagination this season. Maason Smith has been one of the most impressive rookies in training camp of the entire NFL thus far. Maason has simply looked unstoppable whether it’s a double block going against the first team or EVEN a triple block with the spare blocker picking him up. Smith has been a bowling ball against the Jaguars interior offensive lineman, no matter who is lined up against him. Smith has forced pressure himself or by forcefully opening up opportunities for other players. With a young dominant, uber athletic defensive tackle alongside one of the best edge rushing duos in the league, a proven to be elite interior pass rusher in Arik Armstead, and a much improved nose tackle…the Jaguars defensive line looks like the Avengers heading into 2024. 

As for the special teams the Jaguars have the best long snapper in the league in Ross Matiscic, put some respect on his name. Cam Little has been extremely consistent and has done all he’s been asked of looking like the best rookie kicker so far. Cam has hit from anywhere on the field and from deep almost automatically, the Jaguars may have finally got their guy at kicker after many years of searching. Logan Cooke has already proven to be one of the best punters in the league so there is no question there. 

Overall this Jaguars team looks ready for a bounce back year after a crushing end to the 2023 season. They’ve made some much needed improvements on offense and defense, and much more importantly their young stars seem to have finally gotten over the hump as true game changers. The Jaguars upside this season looks through the roof as I truly believe this team has the potential to win the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, but they still have a very very long road ahead of them having to prove themselves and especially needing to stay healthy. There are plenty of fantastic teams in the league, but I believe the Jaguars will find themselves in the discussion for being one of the top contenders as Trevor Lawrence looks to take the jump many anticipated from him last year.