JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – We’ve got nearly a dozen training camp practices in the books. And it’s game week! Well, pregame week. A little bit of a difference. But the regular season is getting closer.
Eleven training camp sessions are done and in the books. Only 10 remain, and two of those are on the road in Detroit. Wednesday and Thursday are the final training camp practices that are open to fans at the Miller Electric Center. The regular season is knocking on the front door. What are the takeaways so far during training camp?
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- Calvin Ridley has been better than advertised and the receiving corps in general has been solid.
- Evan Engram has been far better this camp in terms of catching the ball. Drops were something Engram battled early in his career and even last year. He has looked sharp.
- The offense has some sizzle and big potential.
- The offensive line is going to shuffle, it’s just a question of how much.
- We still have some questions about the pass rush and who, exactly, will be a threat to get to the quarterback. Will the light finally come on for former first-round pick K’Lavon Chaisson? The pass rush needs some juice. Is Josh Allen ready to earn a mega payday with a career year? He’s looked good in camp so far.
- Travon Walker looks much better than he did in camp as a rookie.
- The ground game has looked good with Travis Etienne and rookie Tank Bigsby. Bigsby has shown big play potential (he had a 70-yard touchdown run Monday) and also the ability to be a receiving threat.
- The injury bug has largely stayed away, save for a concussion to starting cornerback Tyson Campbell.
Tuesday is a day off
It’s a break after three of the most intense days of practice for the Jaguars. Doug Pederson said last week that the Saturday-Sunday-Monday stretch would be the most intense of camp. The “dog days” of camp is what Pederson labeled that span. There’s a delicate balancing act between pushing the limits and keeping it light enough so that players are healthy before the season begins. Sunday and Monday practices picked up that pace considerably.
There were some big contact plays Sunday that prompted Pederson to blow the whistle and remind players that they were on the same team. Monday’s practice was more spirited by design. Pederson allowed some periods to be full go, which meant players turned up the volume on the contact. Probably not full game speed, but definitely the most intense hitting of camp so far.
The players are ready for contact
The Jaguars open the preseason on Saturday at Dallas (5 p.m.), a game where the starters could see a series or two. It will be very limited activity for Trevor Lawrence and Co. as the coaching staff tries to get some game film on the glut of mid- and lower tier roster guys. An early estimate would be that there are roughly 34-35 roster spots that are sewn up without question. That leaves, at most, 19 spots up for grabs. With only one cut this year (from 90 to 53), that means the audition is extended this season.
The competition is going to be more intense than usual because of the number of players who will be around in Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason who weren’t around in the past. Players who we’ve spoken to at camp have mentioned how important good game film is. There are 16 practice squad spots, and those positions are extremely important, too. Tight end Josh Pederson said last week that there are 31 other teams watching what goes on around the league, too.
Training camp updates
With Tuesday as a day off, this is a good chance for you to catch up on what you may have missed since the last break. Get your fill on all the camp news you may have missed with our notebooks:
Saturday’s training camp update | Tyson Campbell concussion headlines military appreciation day at the stadium
Sunday’s training camp update | Calvin Ridley’s grab, Trevor turns down Netflix show
Mondays training camp update | Big hits galore as first full-go practice kicks up the pace
All the interviews in one spot
If you like watching video, we’ve got you right here. We’re on the ground at Miller Electric Center daily and have a ton of material for you to get you up to speed.
Jaguars receiver Parker Washington: Learning from the best
Receivers coach Chad Hall: Seeing players succeed is his goal
Inside linebackers coach Tony Gilbert: Ready to see second-year leap from players
Defensive line coach Brentson Buckner: Experience from playing days is good teaching method
Safety Andre Cisco: ‘I love to make people laugh’
Offensive lineman Cooper Hodges: Hype man, ‘Tugboat’ nickname and playing at home
Tight end Evan Engram (pictured below): Offense wants to build big leads, take control this season
Edge Yasir Abdullah: ‘NFL is way different’ than college
Tight end Josh Pederson: ‘This is a really good opportunity’
The sights and sounds of training camp
Sights and sounds of training camp are one of our popular segments on social media. It’s our photographers capturing, you guessed it, the sights and sounds of training camp. It’s bite-sized viewing that gives you a glimpse of what we see out there.
Sights and sounds from Monday’s practice