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Perhaps the most intense and competitive practice to date, the Jaguars held their second day of full pads on “win, lose” day, something invented in part by head coach Urban Meyer, and gave the team their first chance to compete when it counts to earn places on the 53-man roster.
“A big roster is going to go to a smaller roster and I think just to be fair to the players, you know we all have a lot of respect for them,” said Meyer shortly after practice on Wednesday. “This is how guys make a living and I don’t believe in subjectivity. I believe in what is your file? Every man has a file, what is it? You are what your record is.
“If you lose a lot but have a lot of potential, it’s not really good. Just during my career, Ahmad Black’s, I can give you example after example. Maybe they are a little slow but they never lose so I try to create them [and do it safe]. “
The Jaguars participated in several individual drills, which were noted and announced via the team’s PA announcer in the field. If DJ Chark Jr. and a Shaquill Griffin were to compete against each other, for example, the winner would be called out as a result of the rehearsal.
It’s just another, scrum-free way, Meyer says, of scoring everyone and setting their overall record.
The Jaguars will have some tough decisions to make, but training camp practices like these will ultimately decide who gets on the opening day roster after preseason.
That said, here are some of the observations we made during the Jaguars Day 7 training camp:
Safe competition is intriguing
During the offseason, the Jaguars have placed emphasis on the defensive back room, and in particular its group of security positions. The team would sign safety Rayshawn Jenkins in free agency while selecting Andre Cisco in the third round of this year’s draft.
With the additions of Jenkins and Cisco, the Jaguars’ safety stance suddenly became a point of interest. The competition has already started to heat up as last year’s Week 1 starters Jarrod Wilson and Josh Jones suddenly find themselves in an intense battle for the starting gig alongside Jenkins.
So far in training camp, the Jaguars have pivoted their second safety position, mostly playing Jones as a starter, but Cisco has had plenty of reps in the position as well. Another free agent acquisition, Rudy Ford, also saw reps with the First Unit.
WR DJ Chark’s strength gain is obvious
Entering his fourth season with the team, Chark has not been the most talked about receiver in the camp, but he has always shown an ability to open up and make catches downstream, showing the chemistry that he already has between him and quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Ahead of training camp, Meyer tasked the veteran wide receiver with gaining strength, noting that he hadn’t performed well in 2020.
Now it looks like Chark has certainly answered the call, showing up to the camp noticeably bigger and stronger, seemingly able to take on defenders much more forcefully than in previous years. During one of the “win-lose” sessions of the day, Chark faced cornerback Chris Claybrooks, ultimately winning the blocking rep.
A day after making one of camp’s most impressive catches, Chark again answered the call with a performance of two touchdowns during team drills, one during a red zone period and another while the team was working on a three-meter situational exercise. Both were from Lawrence.
After training, second-year catcher Laviska Shenault was asked about Chark, the changes the catcher made during the offseason and how he deals with making progress in the weight room.
“The DJ is a whole different human being,” said Shenault. “I love to see him, and he brings even more energy. He already had the energy, now he has more. So I love it, he just does these little things the right way and he enjoys being stronger and faster – he was already fast, but he was getting stronger and faster and stuff like that. .
The recruits are starting to stand out
The Jaguars will be building on plenty of young parts this year as they work to rebuild their roster after a complete top-to-bottom rebuild. Some of these young pieces will be some of the rookies in this year’s class.
While Lawrence has been the focal point for many – with good reason – so far this training camp, a few others are starting to prove their worth very well.
The trio of cornerback Tyson Campbell, defensive tackle Jay Tufele and running back Travis Etienne continue to impress during camp.
Campbell showed his speed and quickness in team drills and impressed on Wednesday, able to stay with wide receiver Laquan Treadwell in the red zone, forcing an incomplete. Throughout the camp, Campbell played primarily with first-team defense, playing both on the border and on the inside.
It was the first opportunity for coaches and media to take a closer look at Tufele, selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft. The rookie defensive tackle impressed in team drills, showing his strength and speed. During the one-on-one session, Tufele managed to get the best out of veteran offensive line Tyler Shatley.
The Jaguars will also receive a lot of offensive help this year, and while Lawrence will provide the majority of the assist, Etienne will be one of the most impressive players in the field. He’s been very quick throughout camp, and his speed can’t be matched as he consistently beats linebackers in one-on-one clashes.
In the third and third, Etienne would act as a safety net for quarterback Gardner Minshew II, capturing a pass in the backfield and quickly igniting the burners, fleeing defenders on the sideline.
Walker Little continues his star camp
Not much would have been added with the trio above, but it deserves its own place on the sightings list. The rookie’s left tackle looked impressive at the start of training camp already, but he’s looking even better with the pads this week.
Facing second-year pass thrower K’Lavon Chaisson, Little easily covered the young defenseman twice, while the third rep was in a bind. Chaisson showed a lot of speed around tackling in the individual sessions and in the team drills, but Little’s fast feet and technique were no match for the weight.
While rookie left tackle Cam Robinson isn’t yet in danger of losing his job – he impressed on Wednesday after a first day of pads – he received plenty of praise from his coaches, including Meyer when he was asked about the rookie on Wednesday.
“I don’t think we’re there yet, but he’s definitely up there,” Meyer said when asked if the team had considered moving other players to put Little on the pitch.
“Every day off we have a two-hour staff meeting, so tomorrow we’ll have another. We had it on a Sunday and I have all the coaches ranked one to one… well, first of all it’s a starting five so there’s that cut limit and that’s behind the line. chopped off.
“We also assess each player’s state of mind – and the state of mind is competitive spirit, tenacity, intelligence, leadership and adaptability. Everyone’s doing this, so we’ll spend over two hours on it tomorrow.
Meyer noted that Little only has 20% body fat at 320 pounds, and that’s evident by the way he performs on the training ground.
The starting defensive line takes shape
The Jaguars have been spending a lot of money on their defensive line this offseason, bringing two defensive linemen to Roy Robertson-Harris and Malcom Brown. The team also invested in the defensive line through the draft.
Well, over the past week we’ve gotten a clearer picture of what the starting unit might look like, as Brown and Robertson-Harris have taken reps at either of the defensive positions. during team exercises as starters.
On the nose tackle, Jacksonville used second-year defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton. The running defense has already started to improve, with a lot of strength on the inside. For now, it looks like the team’s starting defensive line is set.
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