Welcome into jags Am. Here.
It is day thirteen, lucky number thirteen practice of training camp for the Jaguars. As it's beautiful day to be outside, so we took jags Am outside once again as we enjoy our third week and thirteenth day of practice. I'm ka Nannie Stevens here with Brian Sexton and John Oser.
It's uppiced to be outside again. Enjoy the weather right.
Well, after so many days inside with all that rain, it is nice to be outside.
It's got kind of that humid feel. It's just a touch of it, but it's not bad. So let's go watch the football.
Tis the season, Yes, football's right around the corner. We're just a little over forty eight hours out from actually seeing some preseason football and we're getting pretty excited for that. Let's get into our big things today. We have our first big things say, which is the depth chart that came out earlier this week because we have our first game of the season obviously on Saturday against the Chiefs.
And Ryan Nielson, defensive coordinator, said, yeah, we put out a depth chart, but don't put a lot of stock into it.
The depth chart is etched insand so it can change really really on. It could be gamed game playing time. I mean, it's we take this thing. We talked about this, it's a one day at a time. Every single day counts, every rep counts, doesn't matter who that rep is against. We're evaluating that player for what he's done on that particular rep on tape. That matters, you know, in every aspect of the program.
So that depth chart is in sand Bryan, obviously we know things are kind of fluids, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. Was there anything that jumped out to you on that depth chart? You think it's just it is what it is.
Well, I think you know who the starters are going to be, right.
But Ryan is consistent and he has said since he got here that the depth chart means nothing to him. He's about evaluating players in different positions, in different combinations with other guys. He wants to give everybody a really good look. So I smiled when he said it. He because it's a great line, right. I can think of a handful of great coaches quotes in thirty years with this franchise, and that's on the list of top ten. I mean, just because the wry smile that he had
when he delivered it perfectly. But no, I mean, you know who the starters are going to be, and we're talking about filling out the fifty three at this point, and he's steadfast in his belief that there are some talented guys on this roster that just need a good, thorough evaluation. It's just another reason why I think he's a terrific coach. Yeah, it's exactly what you should say this time of year. I'm penciling Josh hinz Allen as
a start or not. I think might start so, but yes, in the secondary linebackers, they want the defensive line, for example, to be an eight person rotation. Well, go ahead and keep telling them that it's that there's no depth chart. Keep the ninth and tenth guy working hard, believing in it.
Why not? I mean, we get it. So it's fine if he says that, fair enough.
Our second big thing today is BTJ Day Bryan Thomas Junior, the rookie wide receiver drafted out of LSU. We've seen some flashes from him. I think yesterday was probably his best day of camp. Caught a couple good balls from Trevor Lawrence and he talked a little bit to the media after practice about what it means to him to be able to play different roles on this team.
Very real, just having him being able to play all the three positions and out to play inside and just do all they move, They move you around, try to get the best look for you, get the best matchup for you. So I would say it's very challenging, but just coming out here and doing it each and every day, you'll get better.
You get better.
Obviously he's gonna have some rookie moments kind of learning as things go along. Christian Kirk in that wide receiver room a great veteran presence for him. John What can we expect out of Brian Thomas Junior right away? Obviously we know he's a great deep threat, but he's learning other aspects and we're seeing other aspects of his game.
Yeah, right away.
I don't know how much you'll see in the preseason because that can be sort of catch his catch can What I want to see early is maybe what we can't see makes any sense his impact. I think coordinators
are going to know he's there. I think coordinators are going to have to account for him in the red zone and deep so I have no idea what his stats will be this season, but I think he's a legitimate part of a four person with Gabe Davis, Christian Kirk, Evan Ingram, and Brian Thomas Jr. I think he matters in that equation, so the defensive coordinators will have to
account for him. I think if that's true, over the course of time this season, he will get his numbers in the If you're asking exactly what you're looking for, I think three or four times in the first nine or ten games you want him to stretch the field and make a play where, oh, well, now we flip the field. Now this team's facing first and ten at the forty instead of first and tent their own twenty.
If he makes that kind of impact, Brian, I think the last half the season he can really come on once he has chemistry at travel.
You're talking like the play he made over Ronald Darby yesterday down the sideline where he snatched.
The ball once every few games to give you the real yards. And when coordinators see that, they're gonna have to account for it, which is going to make the offense function in a way that I'm not sure if functioned last year without two guys who can stretch it in Davis and Thomas.
In that play, which was all over the internet yesterday, you can see the measurables right the height, the speed, and the length and just the freakish athletic ability to be able to take a ball that you can't quite control and control it and then keep running full speed.
He's got all that.
I've watched him really closely during camp in the way that the Jaguars use him, and I have felt since they drafted him that his speed and size it's going to make a safety be on their heels as opposed
to running towards the line of scrimmage. And I think in his impact, as John said, he's going to make some plays, his impact is that he is going to open things up in that box and give Trevor much more to work with in terms of the running game room for Evan Ingram Underneath, I think Brian Thomas is a combination of all the things that you need to have that downfield passing attack and benefit underneath.
And Brian, what you just talked about something fans might miss, but it matters very much.
Yeah. Absolutely, I think it's exciting to kind of see the role he'll have and then as it becomes more of an explosive plays or whatever it is, as the season goes along, excited to see it myself, say able us Here on jags Am. We are live at training camp. Practice coming up are a little bit more of a preview of game time. Jack's Am brought to you by Field's Auto Group Jacksonville Premier Luxury Auto Group.
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Try everything exactly the same to prepare the player for Sunday to that Hey.
It's not different.
Hey, just trust your fundamentals and technique, understand the scheme, and then play hard.
As simple as that.
Guy's got to keep your routine, keep everything the same. We know football players like their routines, athletes of any sort. So Ryan Neilson said he's trying to do that as much practice the way you play and keep everything in the same kind of timeline so that you know when some of these younger players, these rookies get out in their first game ever in the NFL, that they're not kind of overwhelmed by.
That routine builds consistency, and it's consistency that separates good from great, and you could just see the desire on Ryan's part to get consistency from all of those young players on the defensive side.
Yeah, I think on Saturday you want to see those guys play fast. I mean it's to me, I'm not as concerned on Saturday with the defense. It gives up a touchdown early. It is Patrick Mahomes. But you like to see them playing the way they have during practice, which is with an urgency and with a suddenness that gives you the impression that they get the defense and
they know how it's functioning. So you'd like to see some speed and confidence out of that unit, and I think you will because you've seen it.
In practice so far.
And we haven't talked a lot about this, but to talk to people around here, this defense is much it's less complex. I don't want to say simple because that makes it seem like it's too simple. But he has made this something that these guys can adapt to very quickly and as John said, be able to play fast and simplifying this defense, you can just see it.
You can see how confident these guys are.
A lot has changed. We haven't seen them play a football game six seven months. Obviously, the whole defensive side of the Ball's new coaching staff, Trevon Walker, talked a little bit about this last week, how his role is going to change, and he's really excited about the new role he's going to play.
I feel like it fits me great.
We're playing straight forward and I feel like with me playing with my hand in the dirt, I feel a lot more explosive and I feel like I can just play ball now.
You can miss any part of dropping into coverage.
Oh I mean no, no, not at all. But I mean the more you can do, the more the better. So whatever my teams need.
John, I think it's obvious he's not gonna miss dropping back into coverage very much.
But is this Is this a better suit for his talents? You think?
Yeah, it remains to be seen. We haven't seen everything they're gonna do with him. I always go back to last year when Steelers coach Mike tom And called him a wrecking ball. And Tomlin typically isn't given to praising opponents unless it's warranted, and a Trayvon can be a wrecking ball. He was at the end of last season. It feels like this defense will put him in more situations where when you're a rookie. For example, for him, he's he's obviously usually the most dominant, strongest person in
his matchup. As a rookie, it's hard to make that stand out all the time because you're not sure how to use that ability. I think in year three, in this scheme, I think you're gonna see wrecking ball Trayvon very consistently. So yeah, I think it does fit him well.
They're gonna they're gonna be able to move him inside, right, they talked about doing that some last year, but with Eric Armstead, now you can do some tricky things where you get him and what they call that three technique the inside shoulder of the guard and able to get up the field where he's gonna have mismatches. So it's projection on my part, but I think this does fit
what he does really really well. And I think it's important that people they don't see him as being the other Josh Han talent Josh is that he's that edge rusher who can bend and get. That's not what Trayvon does. Trayvon destroys, I mean, he tears things apart on his way to the quarterback. So in that sense, this scheme and the way that they're gonna use with his hand on the ground allows him to get off the ball with more power and that's his game.
And to me, the most fascinating thing about this team that we didn't see last year is the combination of heinz Allen, but particularly Trayvon, Devon Hamilton and Eric Armstead healthy, three guys who can dominate and disrupt. Get those three guys healthy playing together. I'm not leaving Hines down out of it, but that you know, three wrecking balls. Really we haven't seen that. We haven't even seen Armstate in
it yet. That's the X factor to me defensively that I get, they're playing fast, I get all that, but if those three guys are as dominant as it feels like they could be, then all of a sudden, you can be a dominant defense.
And they have such great length.
I mean, Eric Armstead is bigger, if it's possible, than Trayvon, and so you've got two guys with that kind of length and disruptiveness. You can put them next to each other on opposite side to the line. You create a lot of problems for offensive coordinators.
It's always about the trenches on the other side of the football. The offensive line is something we talked about endlessly last season, still going to be a focus this season. Obviously a new center in Mitch Morris. He spoke a little bit last week as well about what it's going to take to kind of get that consistency of playing with people and dealing with injuries as well on the offensive line, just.
The resilience of the group. You know, we had a few guys go down, as is the nature of training camp, and you know, guys stepped in then Bat and Eye worked when they had to. And the great thing about that is and when you go off the field, you have this huge kind of relax feel because you know you put your work in and then we can make the adjustments and feel free to run and fly around make mistakes because we're just trying to hear to get better, and I think this group does.
A very good job of that.
As Morise mentioned, a couple of injuries we saw on the offensive line last week. Anton Harrison in the concussion protocol but is out practicing today, which is the first we've seen him kind of participating in practice. Brian, what what should we expect to see from the offensive line. Is it going to be the full starting line.
No, it's not a Doug said two hours ago in his news conference that we wouldn't see Ezra Cleveland this week, nor would we see Anton Harrison. Good news is Cam Robinson will be back out there, and obviously we'll see Mitch Brandon Sheriff, you know, Walker Little probably over at right tackle.
So no, you won't see the whole thing.
And it's gonna require some resiliency, which was Mitch's code word there. It's gonna require guys to communicate and when if Chris Jones plays right, be prepared.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm not looking past the Chiefs game.
But I think from Doug's perspective, he puts a lot of value that I think maybe fans when they're looking at, Okay, how's it going to prepare, he puts an awful lot of value on those joint practices next week. I think he would love nothing more than to have full offensive line, Ezra, Anton and the three for two days of practice where they know what they want to do against the Bucks, hopefully get through that, and then have them available the
last preseason game. Just from listening to Doug over the last couple of years. I think his approaches. If I can get those five working in those two practices in that last game, then that'll be as close to cohesion all that as he can get. I think he'll give up this first preseason game if he can get those three key.
Workpoints, get those quality reps next week. Stay with us here on JAGSA. I'm coming up after the break. We'll go over a little bit more about that Chiefs game, what players were expecting to have good games.
Jaguars fans, you're reminded.
To the Firehouse Subs San Marco location at nineteen forty nine San Marco Boulevard in Jacksonville tomorrow from three to four for a very special event. You can meet current Jaguars players, Jackson Deville, the Roar cheerleaders.
Will be there.
It's all the kick off the thirtieth year of Jaguars football and Firehouse Subs in Jacksonville. We hope to see there. Got a lot of fans here in attendance. Today rainy, it's not too too hot so in the shad. It's nice day to take in practice and as we get very close to game time, things are getting very exciting.
We're gonna see real football. It's been six seven months at this point, so I know it's preseason football, but it's still football for us, And obviously against the Super Bowl champs, you can learn a lot from that, especially because we've heard Andy Reid similar and Doug Peterson he'll play his starters for about a quarter and a half as well. So you're gonna get the best, right So whoever you probably more that we don't know about you.
Whoever gets the chance to line up against Travis Kelsey, Chris Jones. I mean, those are really valuable reps.
Yeah, it's about as exciting as a preseason game gets, so kind of that exciting, but it's so fit. It's still better to have the champs in here than not fair enough?
All Right, what are some players You're like? Yeah, who are you looking at?
Who you chose you treat? Prince is the guy that you know. He's a guy of the three young corners, and they have three that are making moves in camp, right, Krek Brown, Christian Braswell and Trey Prince. He's the guy that I think has the most upside, and so on Saturday night he will have the opportunity because the Chiefs send the ball down the field. It doesn't matter who the quarterback is. And there are some receivers, you know, Kadarius Tony might be playing. When he's out on the field.
That's a guy with elite speed, So I think he'll have a great test. I don't expect him to be a guy that breaks the starting lineup, but he has everything that you need mentally, physically, all of that. I think he's the one with the greatest opportunity. He might be the air apparent to go over to that other side. Right Ronald Darby is a stopgap guy on a short
term contract. I think Prince, the way that I have seen him play, I think they might have found a guy who has the ability to become a starter in his second third season.
Here, Yeah, my guy's tank Bigsby.
Originally he will, he will, he might so stick to the format. I think he will get ample opportunity need tomorrow you know, on Saturday. I'm sorry, because he's the guy who needs reps. I think this is an opportunity to get him real reps. That was the one thing they couldn't quite do last season. They couldn't quite have the confidence in him to get him in there when he needed it.
Well, this is the first opportunity that, hey, go at it, show you what you got. He won't. He won't leave me hanging this year.
And you know, I liked Tank a lot and I talked him up a lot last training camp, and the circumstances just never played out. You had a couple fumbles early, and it felt to me like the coaches they liked the idea of him, they liked him, they liked his talent, and yet on third and two there never quite came the situation where is it better to have Tank or Travis. Well, the games were always so tight that it was like, we got to go with Travis because he's our best guy.
So I think he'll get much more opportunity to do that this year, and he might. I hate to say it because fans give me grief out all the time about Tank Bigsby, but I still think that he might be the guy to give them production, reliability, the physicality that's needed to withstand the wear and tear. I still think he might be okay as the other option to Travis ETN. And if he doesn't do it this year, I won't be talking about him next year During training camp but I still think he's got that shot.
I think he is the guy.
Listen, Travis etn is a guy that can break big plays right, But he's not the guy that I have competence in on third down and one why Well because last year they didn't get it done right.
They were that wouldn't Travis Well.
I'm not blaming it at all on him, but I don't think he's that power back, and I think you need a power.
Back in this game. So I do think he's a nice compliment and I expect that he will this year.
I think we will see a lot different running game because of the line, and I'm hoping that shows up right away in this game. So I'm for sure with you on that and hope let tank. Now he's been here for a year, he'll have a little bit trust with how things work. I think they have to trust him. They don't have an option anymore. Obviously we saw last year it didn't work if they don't, so they definitely need to trust him going forward. I'm gonna go with
another young guy. I'm gonna go with Brian Thomas Junior. We talked about had one of his best days of camp yesterday. I think he will surprise you a little bit. Obviously we know he's fast, but I feel like he's a little sneaky fast at times where he's running and then kind of puts in a little extra jet at the end. So I think when you see that in real action, you might be a little bit surprised by that. He's not he won't be the focus of the offense tomorrow.
I think that's still Christian Kirk. They've Trevor shown a lot of progress with Gabe Davis as well, who's a new wide receiver.
So as Brian Thomas Junior.
Kind of figures things out, he's not gonna be the focus right out of the gate, but he might pick things up quicker than we expect him to. Even just in the two and a half weeks that we've seen of his practice so far, he's leaps and bounds because I don't see him make a lot of repeated mistakes. I feel like when things get addressed with him, he kind of moved forward, moves forward from there, and that's.
All you can really ask of a rookie. Obviously, there's a lot of stuff they're not going to know how to do. They've never played in.
The NFL before, but seeing someone pick things up quickly and not repeat mistakes is going to be huge for him.
I feel like you guys, yeah, we talked about it.
I think he's going to make an impact, and I've been surprised during camp frankly at how many plays he has made and how comfortable he looks. He gives me great optimism that by the second half this season. I've always said with a rookie, Brian, especially a high drafted rookie, what you want is by the time we're done with this this year and we're doing our wrap up show in January or February, Hey, this kid's going to be really good.
This kid's a keeper. This kid's going to be a core guy.
I mean, I'd see it every week as a rookie, but you want to really be excited and have him be an off season topic next offseason.
I think he can be that guy. You know, since Jimmy Smith retired in two thousand and five, they've had big receivers, and they've had fast receivers, but they haven't had that combination of so eyes and speed and instinct and he appears to have all of that. Does that mean he's gonna go out and have eighty receptions in twelve hundred yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie.
No, but he's gonna make plays.
He is a.
Combination of all the qualities of a modern receiver, and it's exciting to think that they've got a guy like that.
Now.
Yeah, there's been first round picks around here where you watch him during training camp and you went, this is a guy where you go, yeah, And it's a big difference. You're not gonna see it quite yet, but there's all those traits and it's exciting.
The last guy first round receiver that had that was Justin Blackman, and we all know that career got derailed and he didn't last very long in this league, but he made you go, whoa, Okay, yeah, he could have been special. Yeah, and this guy has the same physical trace. He's taller, I think he's a little bit longer. We'll find out if he can have the body control that a Justin Blackman did which made him so special.
H I hope. So we'll get to see it in action on Saturday.
Stay with us here on Jagsiah one final look at preseason game number one as we wrap things up here from training camp.
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I will hold it down.
That's rookie Jari and Jones out at practice with Florida State, who was in town to practice this week. A little bit too much rain, so they took the indoor facility across the way at Daily's place.
Yesterday.
Also saw Ronald Darby, former FSU player as well, so it kind of catch up a little bit. Good to see across the way.
It's been a minute since Ronald was there. I'm not sure he's just a minute.
I don't think he knows as many players anymore.
Although good memories, I'm sure of that very very talented Epicide team.
Any final words before the game or just let's play ball.
Let's play ball.
I am a person who likes to talk, but I'm not sure that there's a whole lot to say other than we've reached that point of camp, where it's time to get off these fields and onto that one.
All right, let's do this thing. I'm taking on the Chiefs in preseason game one on Saturday. We'll be back here on Jags a'm on Monday to recap it, and then we'll be back outside at joint practice on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
Thank you for joining us, and we'll see again soon