JACKSONVILLE, FLa. – The Jaguars are off and running as training camp opened under clear skies and a little bit of cloud cover on Wednesday morning.
The heat will turn up soon. Not just the temperatures either.
As the defending champions in the AFC South, the pressure is on head coach Liam Coen and the Jaguars. The team’s out-of-nowhere 13-4 finish in Coen’s first season of a rebuild has up the ante in 2026. Was last year a fluke or was it the birth of something lasting?
“Yeah, we haven’t done anything to rest on our laurels here,” Coen said after the first day of camp. “We’re not in a place to hang out and just kind of chill, right? Everything we’re doing is trying to attack an edge. Last year was about finding an edge and creating an edge. And now we are attacking these edges with a relentless pursuit.”
The growth area for the Jaguars is consistency. Can they maintain it? That’s been the knock on the Jaguars long before Coen arrived in town. Ebbs and flows in the game are natural, but long blocks of time with inconsistent play is what Jacksonville wants to ditch.
The Jaguars have Trevor Lawrence coming off the best season of his career (he was an MVP finalist) and the defense was one of the league’s best. But there are things to work on. The ground game started strong but finished with a bit of a whimper. Second-year back Bhayshul Tuten is the candidate to replace Travis Etienne, and he opened camp with a burst along the right sideline that would have been a touchdown. No defender got a hand on Tuten.
The long ball is another area of growth. Receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is healthy after a disappointing sophomore season, and he is unquestionably Jacksonville’s best at taking the back end off the defense. Lawrence and Thomas looked good during the offseason portion of camp, so building off that is key.
“I feel really good. I didn’t think I had the best day today necessarily, but I feel like this whole offseason and even today, I threw it well and just missed a couple,” Lawrence said. “But I feel really healthy. I feel like I’m in great shape. I think I’m throwing it as good as ever. I think the chemistry with the guys is really, really good. I like where our team’s at. So, I’m excited, really excited for this training camp.”
Lawrence in particular has taken fans on a roller coaster ride throughout his five years in the league. At times, he’s looked elite and like one of the best in the NFL. During others, Lawrence has made baffling mistakes that shouldn’t be made.
But after appearing to turn the corner during the second half of 2025, Lawrence looks and feels different. He no doubt has a better grasp of Coen and Grant Udinski’s offense than he did a year ago. With that learning curve out of the way, this season should be much more focused on refinement and not teaching. Lawrence’s biggest area to improve on is in the turnover department. He threw 12 interceptions last year.
“Yeah, I think 12’s a little more than I’d like still, but yeah, I think that that’s something that has been a huge talking point in my career and rightfully so,” Lawrence said. “You have to take care of the ball, so I think that’s something I’ve worked really hard on my entire career, and I think the last few years. A big one is especially fumbles and taking care of the ball in the pocket and when I’m running because that’s one that you can control every time you have it.”
📒Notebook 📒
Trevor Lawrence: 4 for 10, 1 INT
Nick Mullens: 5 for 10
Carter Bradley: 1 for 2
Joey Aguilar: 2 for 2
Bhayshul Tuten: 5 carries all with Trevor Lawrence
Chris Rodriguez jr: 0 carries in team
LaQuint Allen: 3 carries all with Trevor
Ameer Abdullah: 5 carries all from Nick Mullens
DeeJay Dallas: 3 carries all with Nick Mullens
J’Mari Taylor: 2 carries. 1 from Mullens and 1 from Joey Aguilar.
- Defensive Standout: Eric Murray had the splash play of the day. On the 1st play of 7 on 7, Murray got an interception off Trevor. It was a play that felt very similar to a play Murray made at the start of OTAs. Murray needs to keep making those sorts of veteran plays if he is going to hold off the young guys that he is competing with for a starting job.
- Travis Hunter spent time with the offense and defense both during individual periods and during team. Hunter nearly made the play of the day when he went up and snatched a pass along the sideline, but he lost the ball on the way down. Either way, it was encouraging to see him back on the field and showing off that type of athleticism.
- Jack Kiser was banged up early in practice. He left with the trainers and never returned.
- Chris Rodriguez worked with the running backs during position drills but didn’t participate during the team parts of practice. Chris says he feels good to go and will be ready for week 1.
- Travon Walker had what would have been a sack. He ran through the right tackle and demolished the running back in pass pro for what would have been a really nice play.
- Offensive Play of the Day: Nick Mullens and CJ Williams connected on a beautiful throw and catch. Mullens layered it in between 2 defenders, and Williams made a nice sliding catch.