2021 Jaguars training camp: Day 1 practice takeaways

It was an interesting Day 1 of Jaguars camp as the offense seems to have come out swinging.

The day that Jacksonville Jaguars fans have long been awaiting since the team went on their post-minicamp break has arrived as they returned to the field for their first training camp practice. As expected it was a productive day, but one where the offense provided a majority of the highlight plays.

Here are some of the takeaways the media was able to accumulate during and after Day 1’s session:

It was a predominantly good day for the QBs

Of course, the main player fans and the media wanted insight on was No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence — and he didn’t disappoint. Per First Coast News’ Mia O’Brien, Lawrence’s day was highlighted by a strong final team period. During that time he was able to hit Phillip Dorsett (a favorite target of his) and Josh Imatorbhehe for gains of over 30 and 20 yards, respectively. Overall, O’Brien said his intermediate throws were impressive and noted that his physical abilities may give him the luxury of making things look effortless in the pocket.

Minshew, who split starting reps with Lawrence, also looked solid and also flourished with his intermediate throws. One of the notable throws of the day came when he was able to hit James O’Shaugnessy (a favorite target of his) on a go-route.

Lastly, veteran quarterback C.J. Beathard had what was believed to be his most consistent practice of this offseason. This comes after he struggled during organized team activities in the eyes of most, but with three preseason games taking place next month, he’ll have more than enough time to prove himself and it appears he started that journey Wednesday.

Of course, the quarterbacks weren’t perfect on Wednesday. There was a minor issue where Lawrence struggled with handling a snap with Tyler Shatley (the person at fault varied from onlookers). Minshew, on the other hand, had a throw batted down by edge-rusher Lerentee McCray and had a notable under throw to D.J. Chark when he was in double coverage.

According to Michael DiRocco of ESPN, Beathard had the highest completion percentage of the day although he didn’t see nearly the amount of snaps Minshew and Lawrence did.

Should there be concerns for the backup OL?

With Minshew (and sometimes Lawrence) taking snaps behind the starting offensive line, the group predominantly looked good, but the backups allowed a concerning amount of pressure by the eyes of O’Brien. With Lawrence and Beathard seeing snaps behind them, both quarterbacks didn’t have the cleanest pockets and two players who were specifically mentioned were right guard Ben Bartch and right tackle Will Richardson. That said, aside from second-round pick Walker Little there seems to be some concerns early for the second and third-team offensive lines and their week-to-week progress will be worth monitoring.

Tim Tebow update

One of the notable topics of Wednesday’s practice was the performance of tight end Tim Tebow. Those who attended once again took note of his impressive physique and also came away impressed with a couple of passes he caught from Lawrence and Beathard, though he did have a drop. Still, it sounds like Tebow had the type of day he can build on and potentially push for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Jags have surpassed the 80% vaccination rate

Jags coach Urban Meyer told the media that the Jags are currently over the 80% rate when it comes to player vaccinations. This news comes after the team had a lagging figure in the category last month.

There were already benefits and competitive advantages for players who were vaccinated, but the NFL gave unvaccinated players more of a reason to be vaccinated last week when they sent out a memo. The most important takeaways from it was that players could lose paychecks or cause their team to forfeit games if an outbreak was caused by an unvaccinated player.

Only time will tell if the Jags get closer to the 85-90% range, but we’ll be sure to monitor the progress they are making down the road.

Injury news

  • The Jags announced that they placed three more players on their active/non-football injury list Wednesday morning. This group of players included receiver Jamal Agnew, defensive tackle Taven Bryan, and kicker Aldrick Rosas.
  • Third-round pick Andre Cisco took the practice field Wednesday and looks ready to return from the ACL tear he had last fall. He joined the rest of the Jags’ safeties for individual drills and was seen running and jumping around without any issues. With his health trending upward and him feeling 100% (or close to it), it will be interesting to see when he’ll take the field for team drills as he’s expected to push for a starting role.