The first week of Jaguars training camp is over! It was an exciting time at The Miller Electric Center. Let's review some takeaways and notes from practice thus far.
Offensively, patience is critical. Offensive coordinator Press Taylor touched on the unit's prioritization of red zone drills during installments until Sunday. Trevor Lawrence and the wide receivers have not been consistently on the same page, and I encourage you to take that with a grain of salt.
The most intriguing starting job battle so far has been between Cam Robinson and Walker Little, both competing for the pivotal left tackle spot in contract years. Offensive line coach Phil Rauscher said, "I think both guys are, in a sense, battling for their careers as Jaguars … Overall, they're putting themselves in a position right now for the next four, five weeks to decide for us."
The contract situation for Robinson is entirely different than Little, potentially breeding complications on who yields the starting job if the battle is tight. Robinson is in the final year of the $52.75 million contract extension he received leading up to the 2022 season, and his 2024 salary is $16.25 million with a cap hit of $21.68 million. The Jaguars could trade Robinson if he doesn't win the job, saving over $17 million in cap space. With Little's price tag and positional versatility, he's likely to remain in Duval.
Rookie Bryan Thomas Jr. had a quiet first week, expecting his connection with Lawrence to progress every day as they continue to build chemistry. Gabe Davis was an essential addition this offseason, giving this offense a big field-stretching and red-zone target that Jacksonville has lacked for years. He had a solid but quiet week overall. Christian Kirk has been the most consistent in that room throughout the first week.
The key to this offense will be unlocking everyone's untapped potential, including Trevor Lawrence, who still has massive room to grow as a signal caller. He didn't have a great week by any means, but let's have confidence that he will get things rolling with that unit.
Defensively, they have been a step ahead of the offense every day, per usual in training camp. The defensive back room was exceptional this week in practice, constantly giving the offense fits and exterminating any chance at the wide receivers creating consistent separation. Andrew Wingard has had one of the best camps thus far, creating countless pass breakups and forcing turnovers in the red zone.
The backend of this unit has the potential to be very good with the mix of athleticism and depth, something that Jaguars faithful have been clamoring for. Devin Lloyd is moving to middle linebacker for the 2024 season. "I put on around 12-15 pounds, sitting around 250 pounds now, and it's just to play dominant ... I think I'm going to feel a lot better and stronger towards week 18, and that that's really what it's for" he stated in today's presser with the media.
Special teams this week were intriguing. Riley Patterson and Cam Little are in a sneaky battle for the kicker spot. Little drilled a field goal from 62 yards out during Friday's practice. He's been impressive so far. The return game was suspect; in that same practice, there were five drops during kickoff return drills. More reps with the revamped kickoff return rules should minimize this.
Overall, patience is vital. The first week is over; let's get pads on and hit next week before we jump to conclusions. Remember, this is practice.