After trimming their roster down to 85 players early Tuesday morning, the Jacksonville Jaguars took the practice field for Day 15 of training camp, marking their second consecutive practice since their first preseason game.
It was a session that started off slow for Trevor Lawrence, but as he’s consistently shown since becoming a Jaguar, he was able to pick things up afterward. And when it was all over, he once again left very few questioning if he’s the Jags’ top quarterback.
As for the rest of the offense and defense, things got chippy in what was another intense practice, which is probably just what head coach Urban Meyer wanted to see from a competitive standpoint. The first-year head coach was pretty vocal about not having any offensive tempo Saturday against the Cleveland Browns, and it appears the staff decided to work towards fixing that Tuesday. As a result, the defense had to match their effort and intensity, which made it yet another productive practice.
With Tuesday’s practice session behind us, here are some takeaways and things we learned from Day 15 of Jags training camp:
WRs and DBs go back and forth
The receivers and defensive backs had one of those days where one group wanted to 1-up the other. Jaguars.com’s Brian Sexton particularly took note of the battle between receiver Phillip Dorsett and cornerback Shaquill Griffin.
One of the highlight plays of practice came when Dorsett got a step on Griffin and was able to haul in a one-handed catch down the sideline from Lawrence. Griffin held one of his arms which made Dorsett resort to a one-handed snag and the veteran receiver was able to hold on to it. Then a few plays later, Griffin responded by batting away a pass that would’ve resorted in a touchdown pass.
Sexton also noted that there was some jawing between Marvin Jones Jr. and Jags cornerback Sidney Jones IV after Jones the defensive back broke up a pass in the end zone. Jones the receiver, who had a great day and continued to improve his connection with Lawrence, then caught a nice pass just inside the back of the end-zone on rookie cornerback Tyson Campbell (also from Lawrence).
This intense and productive session between the two sides came as Griffin and Marvin Jones both were some of the standouts of Saturday’s preseason game. It’s a big-time indication that both were not only hand-picked by the Jags’ staff to lead the team, but because of their abilities on the field as well.
Quarterback battle update
After Gardner Minshew II took snaps with the starters Monday, Lawrence was given the opportunity to do the same on Tuesday. As previously mentioned, he started off slow, and according to News4Jax’s Jamal St. Cyr, the first snaps for Lawrence (in their team red-zone drill) were two incompletions and a sack. However, he got back on track when he hit Chris Manhertz for a back-corner touchdown.
Lawrence’s other notable throw came on a deep connection with Jones up the sideline, continuing their connection from Saturday’s game against the Browns. Griffin was tight in coverage, but still, Jones was able to real it in and make it a completion.
St. Cyr and many others left Day 15 feeling that Lawrence once again proved that he’s surpassed Minshew in the competition, but Meyer told the media that they are looking for consistency beyond this point at the end of Tuesday’s session.
Other tidbits
- The Jags had another renowned guest from the football community in Steve Spurrier pay them a visit Tuesday.
- DJ Chark was on the field in pads again, though he didn’t catch any passes. He had finger surgery this month but is expected to be ready for Week 1.
- Cornerback CJ Henderson once again received some first-team reps and appears to be back on his way to becoming a starter again.
- Carlos Hyde, Campbell, and Meyer were the members of the team who met with the media after practice to discuss what went down on the field and training camp in general.