NFL Camp Preview: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars went from the penthouse to the outhose in the matter of six months. Going into last summer’s camp the Jaguars were a trendy Super Bowl pick coming off a surprising 11-5 season that saw them win a playoff thriller in Pittsburgh. Quarterback David Garrard was coming off a breakout season that saw him throw just 3 interceptions and complete 64.0% of his passes en route to scoring a new deal.
A year later the Jaguars enter training camp with a coach, Jack Del Rio, on the hot seat after a disappointing 5-11 season and a bunch of new faces after the team trimmed some of the fat in the off season. Gone are players like Mike Peterson, Matt Jones, and Jerry Porter who seem to get in the news for the wrong reason which should go a long way in repairing the locker room chemistry which was said to implode after Peterson’s run-in with Del Rio. The biggest off season development was the team rewarding Maurice Jones-Drew with a long-term extension culminating with the release of long-time face of the franchise Fred Taylor. The Jaguars face a long road ahead if they want to get back into contention.
Key Veteran Additions – Torry Holt (WR), Sean Considine (S), Tra Thomas (T), Marlon McCree (S), Gerald Alexander (S)
Apparently Del Rio saw a need to sure up the safety position as the Jags have gone out and grabbed three veteran safeties in the past several months. Sean Considine and Marlon McCree will battle it out at strong safety while Gerald Alexander is being brought in to potentially challenge Reggie Nelson to step up his game. It should be noted that McCree and Alexander are coming off injuries and may just be relegated to back up duty for the Jags.
The Jaguars went ahead and purged their roster of just about every veteran receiver by releasing Matt Jones and deciding not to bring Reggie Williams and Jerry Porter back thus necessitating acquiring an established veteran of some kind for Garrard to throw the ball to. Holt fills the bill and while he may not be the elite receiver he was two or three years ago he still has a bit left in the tank and should up better not having to play half of his games indoors on turf.
Initially Tra Thomas was signed to be the starting left tackle for the Jags but that all may have changed with the drafting of Eugene Monroe. Thomas’ career has seen better days and he struggled mightily down the stretch for the Eagles and is probably better served as a backup and mentor to Monroe.
Key Rookie Additions – Eugene Monroe (T), Eben Britton (T), Derek Cox (CB), Rashad Jennings (RB), Jarrett Dillard (WR), Mike Thomas (WR), Tiquan Underwood (WR)
The Jaguars surprised many by passing on taking a receiver with one of their top picks by picking up a pair of bookend tackles in the first and second round. Eugene Monroe figures to beat out the aging Thomas for the left tackle spot. Monroe was considered by most as one of the top two tackles available in the draft who just lacks a mean streak.
Britton was considered a first round prospect by many and one of the top five or six tackles available in the draft. With Monroe pencilled in on the left side Britton will be expected to man the right side and challenge Tony Pahsos for the starting job.
With the team devoid of any established talent at wide receiver rookies Jarrett Dilliard, Mike Thomas, and Tiquan Underwood will all get a chance to win the #2 and #3 spots behind Holt. Thomas lacks ideal size and drops too many passes to be a starter at this stage of his career. He likely projects out as a slot receiver and/or return specialist.
Dilliard catches just about anything he can get his hands on and has adequate size he just lacks the top end speed that teams look for in receivers. At this stage he projects out as a third down/possession receiver.
Early minicamp reports have Underwood being better than anticipated. Underwood’s college career was a bit of a disappointment. He has the top end speed teams look for but is a bit on the sleight side and kind of reminds one of Todd Pinkston. If he learns to run better routes and control his speed better he could emerge as a candidate for the other starting job.
The burly Rashad Jennings looks to pick up Fred Taylor’s carries and serve as the short yardage back for the Jaguars.
With William James recently being released Derek Cox looks to challenge for the nickle back role.
Key Position Battles
The big question is going to be who Garrard is going to be throwing the ball to this season. Holt figures to be one of the starting receivers and Mercedes Lewis will likely be the starting tight end. From there it is anybody’s guess. It was assumed that Dennis Northcutt was going to be the other WR up until he got traded to the Lions. Former first round selection Troy Williamson has the most experience but has never been able to put it all together in the NFL and likely has the inside track to the starting job.
Will the young studs overtake the veteran tackles? Monroe will most assuredly beat out Thomas for the staring job at left tackle. Tony Pashos is a solid, if unspectacular, right tackle and if Britton does not win the starting job he could be moved inside to man one of the guard positions.
Wh0 will get the bulk of Fred Taylor’s carries? Maurice Jones-Drew will be the main back but don’t expect him to see significantly more touches just because he got a new extension. Drew works best when he has a guy like Taylor to share the workload with. Veteran Greg Jones showed an ability to be able to handle 100 plus carries a season when he logged 151 carries but this was prior to him injuring his leg and missing all of the 2006 season and he seems to be a better fit at fullback. The early returns on Jennings have him looking very good at the minicamps and emerging as the top candidate to be Jones-Drew’s backup.
