Tag: Jake Luton

Jaguars training camp primer: Everything you need to know about team’s new additions

The Jags made a lot of moves to get to the start of training camp with key additions like Joe Schobert, C.J. Henderson and more.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have reported for their first day of training camp. There were a lot of moves made this offseason to get to this point in addition to navigating through the issues coronavirus has caused.

To get you all prepared for what will be a unique training camp, we’ve decided to group all of the team’s new additions into one post. Here are all the new draft picks, free-agents, and coaches that Doug Marrone and company were able to add this offseason:

New additions

TE Tyler Eifert: Tight end has long been an area of concern for the Jags and 2019 was no exemption. The Jags were left almost bare at tight end last season when Geoff Swaim, Josh Oliver, and James O’Shaughnessy all had to go on injured reserve. With Swaim not showing much when he was healthy, the Jags released the veteran and picked up someone familiar with the scheme: Tyler Eifert. He’s a former Pro Bowler and will be TE1 but comes with injury concerns, missing over 50 career games.

RB Chris Thompson: Like Eifert, Chris Thompson brings familiarity to the Jags’ new system because he was with coordinator Jay Gruden in Washington. With such a young running backs room, the Jags felt the need to bring in a veteran, and with seven years of experience, Thompson should be a very good role model and player for the group.

LB Joe Schobert: The Jags tried Myles Jack out at MIKE linebacker after locking him up to a long-term deal, and to put it lightly, it didn’t work out. That said, they added veteran Joe Schobert this offseason to man the spot and move Jack to WILL linebacker, an area where his skill-set could better thrive.

DL Rodney Gunter: With the Jags trading Calais Campbell, they needed to find a cheaper option to replace him and Rodney Gunter ended up joining the Jags as a result. He’ll play both on the interior and exterior of the Jags’ defense and could be a sleeper to have a solid season.

DT Al Woods: Nobody expected the Jags to pick up Marcell Dareus’ expensive contract option this offseason and they didn’t. With a hole left at nose tackle, the ended up signing veteran Al Woods, who brings nine years of experience to the table and will be the oldest player on the team (33).

DE/LB Cassius Marsh: The Jags wanted more help on the edge and at SAM linebacker. That sent them in the direction of Cassius Marsh, who will compete with rookie K’Lavon Chaisson to start at SAM on early downs.

CB Rashaan Melvin: Jalen Ramsey was traded before the 2019 season was over and A.J. Bouye was traded before the 2020 offseason could end. With that being the case, the Jags needed a veteran at corner and added Rashaan Melvin as a result. He’ll enter his career with the Jags with 40 starts to his name and will compete with Tre Herndon to start alongside rookie C.J. Henderson.

Notable departures

DL Calais Campbell: The Jags made the tough decision to trade Calais Campbell as a result of needing to reallocate money and get younger. It’s possible they would’ve kept him on a smaller cap hit, but the good thing about the trade is that he ended up with a great team.

CB A.J. Bouye: Bouye is another testament of the Jags needing to reallocate money. Like Campbell, the Jags added him in 2017 through an expensive “win now” free-agent class, but success didn’t come for the team. That put the Jags in a predicament where they wanted to keep the veteran but had to dump his salary on the Denver Broncos.

DT Marcell Dareus: As previously stated, the option to pick up Dareus would’ve been costly to retain at about $20 million on the season. Sure, he was arguably their best run defender, but that’s not worth the price that would’ve c0me with him. The Jags were able to find a significantly cheaper veteran option in Woods and got a sleeper in third-round pick DaVon Hamilton, who could be the future at nose tackle.

QB Nick Foles: The Jags took a costly swing on the Super Bowl MVP in 2019 and he ended up with a collarbone injury that allowed them to see some impressive things out of Gardner Minshew II. Understanding they may have caught lightning in a bottle, they moved on from Foles by trading him to the Chicago Bears to give Minshew a clear path to the QB1 spot.

WR Marqise Lee: The longtime veteran was another expected cut for the Jags. His career, unfortunately, was plagued with injuries and the Jags simply saw an opportunity to upgrade the spot with a strong receivers class that highlighted the 2020 NFL Draft.

Draft selections (12)

Round 1 (No. 9): CB CJ Henderson, Florida (More about Henderson)

Round 1 (No. 20): Edge K’Lavon Chaisson, Louisiana State (More about Chaisson)

Round 2 (No. 42): WR Laviska Shenault, Colorado (More about Shenault)

Round 3 (No. 73): DT DaVon Hamilton, Ohio State (More about Hamilton)

Round 4 (No. 116): OL Ben Bartch, St. Johns (More about Bartch)

Round 4 (No. 137): CB Josiah Scott, Michigan State (More about Scott)

Round 4 (No. 140): LB Shaquille Quarterman, Miami (More about Quarterman)

Round 5 (No. 157): Safety Daniel Thomas, Auburn (More about Thomas)

Round 5 (No. 165): WR Collin Johnson, Texas (More about Johnson)

Round 6 (No. 189): QB Jake Luton, Oregon State (More about Luton)

Round 6 (No. 206): TE Tyler Davis, Georgia Tech (More about Davis)

Round 7 (No. 223:) CB Chris Claybrooks, Memphis (More about Claybrooks)

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Undrafted rookies (18)

Connor Slomka, FB, Army

Amari Henderson, CB, Wake Forest (Highlights) (Scouting report)

Steven Nielsen, OT, Eastern Michigan

Brandon Wright, kicker/Punter, Georgia State

Marvelle Ross, WR, Notre Dame College (Highlights)

James Robinson, RB, Illinois State University (Highlights) (Scouting report by NFL.com)

Kobe Williams, CB, Arizona State (Highlights)

Ross Matiscik, LS, Baylor (Highlights)

Josh Hammond, WR, Florida (Highlights)

Luqman Barcoo, CB, San Diego State (Highlights) (Scouting report by Mountain West Wire)

Nate Evans, LB, Central Florida (Highlights) (Scouting report by Black and Gold Banneret)

Tre’Vour Wallace Simms, OL, Missouri (Highlights) (Scouting report PFN)

Ben Ellefson, TE, North Dakota State (Highlights)

Nate Cottrell, RB, Georgia Tech (Highlights)

Tavien Feaster, RB, South Carolina (Highlights) (Scouting report by TDN)

Austen Pleasants, OL, Ohio (Highlights) (Scouting report by PFN)

J.R. Reed, Safety, Georgia (Highlights) (Scouting report by TDN)

New additions to the coaching staff

OC Jay Gruden: The Jags decided to mutually part ways with former offensive coordinator John DeFilippo this offseason, putting them on the market for a new offensive coordinator. They eventually ended up with former Washington Football Team head coach Jay Gruden to replace DeFilippo.

Gruden has had success with young quarterbacks in the past like Andy Dalton ad Kirk Cousins, which probably was a big reason Marrone wanted him on the team.

QB coach Ben McAdoo: Ben McAdoo, a former head coach for the New York Giants, will bring 16 years of coaching experience to the Jags’ quarterbacks room. His most notable run coaching the position came back in 2012-13, when he was with the Green Bay Packers and coached Aaron Rodgers.

Quality controls coach Dennard Robinson: Dennard Robinson is a familiar face to Jags fans as he was their No. 135th overall pick of the 2013 draft. As a quality controls coach on offense, the former multi-purpose weapon will be learning under guys like McAdoo and Gruden while also researching opponents in advance.

Assistant LB coach Tony Gilbert: Tony Gilbert is another former Jags player who will be joining the coaching staff as a newcomer. He spent time with the team during the Jack Del Rio era and will work alongside head linebackers coach Mark Collins.

Jags rookies Laviska Shenault Jr., Collin Johnson, Jake Luton receive Madden 21 ratings

Three members of the Jags’ rookie class have received their “Madden NFL 21” ratings with Laviska Shenault receiving first-round pick numbers.

With “Madden NFL 21” set to come out next month, Electronic Arts has began to release the ratings for each rookie selected in the 2020 draft class. On Thursday and Friday, the respective ratings for the league’s rookie quarterbacks and receivers came out, which included Jacksonville Jaguars rookies Jake Luton, Laviska Shenault Jr., and Collin Johnson.

Luton, who was drafted out of Oregon State University, was selected the latest out of the trio (No. 189th overall). As a result, he was given a 59 overall rating, which is the lowest grade of the Jags’ rookie class so far. Luton’s best attribute is his throwing power, which comes in at a solid 87 rating.

Johnson, a fifth-round selection from the University of Texas, was given a 67 overall rating. He is a highly athletic receiver as evidenced by his 90 rated jumping attribute.

Shenault registered the highest rating among the Jags’ rookies, coming in with a 72 overall rating. The 6-foot-1, 223-pound receiver out of Colorado University is another incredible athlete on the Jaguars’ roster as evidenced by his ratings spread. He received a jump rating of 91 (his highest), but he has attributes that are actually similar to most running backs. For instance, Shenault’s ball carrying vision and juke move ratings came in at 85 and 89, respectively. For good measure Shenault’s tackle breaking rating came out to be an 82, which once again shows off how physical of a player he is.

While these numbers may seem low at first glance, rookies generally take a pounding in the ratings since their professional talent has yet to be established. If the season goes well for them, they may see a huge jump in their rating for the next “Madden NFL” installment.

Jags depth chart prediction: Quarterback

the Jags’ quarterback room will look significantly different in 2020 as there will be competition behind Gardner Minshew.

With the 2020 NFL Draft over and the NFL working towards normal operations again, we’ll be previewing every spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster to give our early positional depth chart predictions. With it being the most important part of the team, we’ll start with the quarterbacks position where the team looks drastically different than it in 2019.

QB1: Gardner Minshew II

The Jags’ actions this offseason proved that the team is committed to Gardner Minshew II for the 2020 season. After going 6-6 as a rookie, it’s easy to see why as he kept the Jags in a lot of games and played better than veteran Nick Foles.

With the addition of Tyler Eifert and the returns of Josh Oliver and James O’Shaughnessy at tight end plus the draft selections of receivers Laviska Shenault and Collin Johnson, the team has several pass-catching threats. If the offensive line steps up, the pieces in place should put him in position to flourish.

QB2: Mike Glennon

The backup quarterback spot is up for grabs and could end up going to new free-agent addition, Mike Glennon or Joshua Dobbs. For now, it feels right to give the position to Glennon because he has a total of 22 starts to his name while Dobbs has none.

QB3: Joshua Dobbs

Joshua Dobbs will be entering his second year with the Jags after the team received him via trade last year from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’t take a snap on the field behind Minshew when veteran Nick Foles went down but the Jags did keep him after Foles returned. The reason for that was probably because the team invested a fifth-round pick in him.

When looking at how coach Doug Marrone has constructed his final-53 man rosters in the past, the Jags may just go into the regular season with two quarterbacks. That probably means Dobbs needs to beat out Glennon in the preseason.

QB4: Jake Luton

The Jags have taken a quarterback late in four of their last five drafts, including Jake Luton this offseason. When considering where he was drafted (No. 189th overall) the Jags clearly believe he’s a developmental project.

At 6-foot-6, 224-pounds, Luton has great size and a good arm and will be coming off a season where he went 222-of-358 (62%) for 2,714 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just three interceptions with the Oregon State Beavers. He’ll be fighting for a spot on the practice squad during training camp unless he has a spectacular preseason and looks better than Glennon and Dobbs.

Jags coach Doug Marrone is confident that his QBs can take on any team in ‘Jeopardy!’

The Jags’ QBs room might be the smartest you will find in football and Doug Marrone is willing to put that theory to test.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars may not have the most experienced quarterbacks room, it’s no doubt they have one of the smartest.

Joshua Dobbs is a certified rocket scientist for NASA while Gardner Minshew II scored a 42 on the Wonderlic test. New draftee Jake Luton wasn’t too far behind Minshew in terms of his Wonderlic score, acquiring a 33 while the newest member of the group, Mike Glennon, finished college with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s degree in Arts in Liberal Studies.

Clearly, the Jags’ quarterback room isn’t lacking when it comes to book smarts, which is why coach Doug Marrone is confident that they could take on any team in the league when it comes to trivia. In his Zoom conference with the media Friday, Marrone said his group will challenge any team to a game of Jeopardy though that may not do much for them on Sundays.

While we don’t know exactly where the Jags’ quarterbacks room would rank in terms of their work on the gridiron, it’s clear they won’t have a hard time finding work after football.

As for the group’s outlook for 2020, clearly, Minshew is the guy heading forward. Glennon and Dobbs will have the chance to battle for the backup spot, though it’s not out of the realm of possibilities to keep both. Luton, on the other hand, will be a developmental player and his 2020 season on the roster would likely have to come on the Jags’ practice squad.

Official uniform numbers for the Jaguars’ 2020 draft class

The Jags’ 2020 rookie class uniform numbers have been made official!

The Jacksonville Jaguars used all 12 of their draft selections during the 2020 NFL Draft, bringing in seven players on defense and five on offense.

Here are the uniform numbers each player will wear as they begin their journey in the NFL:

What the nation’s top analysts said about the 2020 Jaguars’ draft class

For the most part it looks like the nation’s journalists like what the Jags did in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft is in the books and it certainly has been one for the ages.

This year provided an interesting spin on the draft. Due to the social distancing guidelines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft was done virtually with the coaches and player personnel of all 32 teams making their selections from their respective homes. Once the picks were in NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell would then read them off from his home and the rest is history.

The new format didn’t deter viewers as the 2020 NFL Draft would go on to be the highest watched in history as Day 1 and Day 2 would go on to average 11.6 million views, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were a part of this historic affair as they put together a solid draft that could see them build very well towards the future. While some teams missed the mark with their selections, here is how the nation’s best draft analysts viewed the Jags draft.

Chad Reuter, NFL.com

Overall grade: A

“Jacksonville picked up two star SEC defenders (Henderson and Chaisson) to meet critical needs in the first round, then selected worthwhile prospects in the second (Shenault) and third rounds (Hamilton) to sew up a nice first two days of the draft. They started Day 3 with Bartch, who I thought was worthy of a top-75 selection. He plays with a nasty demeanor, and should be able to line up at tackle or, eventually, slide inside if needed. Scott provides more depth in the secondary. Quarterman’s just a great football player who will start in the middle at some point in his pro career (with the Jags or someone else). Thomas is a better athlete than football player at this point, and is likely a special teamer. Johnson is a nice outside complement to Shenault. Luton will compete for playing time if Gardner Minshew falters in 2020 and should at least be a solid backup in the league for a few years.”

Ryan Dunleavy, New York Post

Grade: A-

“Tear-down-and-rebuild of an elite defense starts with the two first-rounders. Shenault is a creative play-caller’s dream and Bartch is a high-ceiling developmental project.”

Mark Maske,  Washington Post

Grade: B+

“The Jaguars seem firmly in rebuilding mode, and they pushed that process along. They landed the draft’s second-best CB, CJ Henderson, and its second-best pass rusher, K’Lavon Chaisson, in the first round. They participated in the run on WRs with the second-round choice of Laviska Shenault Jr. About all that went wrong is that the Jaguars did not find a team willing to trade for RB Leonard Fournette or pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

Justin Leger of Yahoo Sports writes


Grade: B

 “Henderson is a perfect pick for Jacksonville after parting ways with Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. Combine that with Chaisson at No. 20, and those are two huge additions to the Jags defense. Taking Shenault on Day 2 filled another need at wide receiver, and Hamilton bolsters their run defense. One of the better picks for Jacksonville on Day 3 was Scott, another nice addition to the secondary. Overall, a busy and effective draft for a rebuilding Jaguars squad.”

Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com (grade on Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson)

Jacksonville Jaguars: B+

“I love him because he can cover. There are so many guys in the NFL that I talked to leading up to the draft that thought he was better than Okudah.”

Nate Davis, USA TODAY

Grade: C+

“Seems they’re building toward 2021 – Trevor Lawrence? – but nevertheless picked reputable players, including first-round CB C.J. Henderson, who should address a glaring need following Ramsey’s departure. Pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson (Round 1) – taken with a pick obtained for Ramsey – and WR Laviska Shenault Jr. (Round 2) could need a transition year, which isn’t a knock but adds to the feel that this club is in a weird limbo. Speaking of which, disgruntled DE Yannick Ngakoue remains.”

Overall, the media received the Jaguars selections very well which could be an encouraging sign for things to come. It has been a tumultuous few weeks in Jacksonville with disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue battling with management and numerous accusations of the organization tanking for current Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

However, the Jaguars can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they did a solid job putting together a good, young team that could potentially compete sooner than people may think.

Highlights of every Jaguars selection in 2020 NFL draft

With the 2020 NFL Draft wrapped up, here are highlights of each selection.

Seven draftees on defense and five on offense. That’s the ratio the Jacksonville Jaguars finished with when all of their 2020 NFL Draft selections were made.

To open the draft on Day 1, the Jags selected two Southeastern Conference defenders in C.J. Henderson and K’Lavon Chaisson. On Day 2 they finally went offense by taking receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. but ended the day by going back to the defensive side with defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton.

In round four the acquired some help on the offensive line by selecting Ben Bartch, then closed the round with two more defensive selections in linebacker Shaq Quarterman and cornerback Josiah Scott. In round five they added a player on each side of the ball by taking safety Daniel Thomas, then receiver Collin Johnson.

In the sixth round, they finally went all offense by snagging quarterback Jake Luton and tight end Tyler Davis and their last selection, taking in round seven, was another defensive back in Chris Claybrooks.

Here’s a set of highlights for all 12 picks made by general manager Dave Caldwell on Thursday and the weekend:

1.9: CB C.J. Henderson, Florida

1.20: EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson, Louisiana State

2.42: WR Laviska Shenault Jr., Colorado

3.72: DT DaVon Hamilton, Ohio State

4.116: OL Ben Bartch, St. John

Jaguars select Oregon State QB Jake Luton with pick No. 189

The Jags continued there trend of drafting late round quarterbacks by selecting Jake Luton from Oregon State.

Continuing the trend of taking late round quarterbacks, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton with the No. 189 overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft.

At 6-foot-6, 224-pounds, Luton offers NFL caliber quarterback size and worked in a pro-style scheme while attending Oregon State. During his last season with the Beavers, he was able to garner a 62% completion rate (222-of-358) for 2,714 yards and 28 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

In his overview, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com pointed out that Luton has developmental skills, however, he added that the Beaver alum lacked mobility and the ability to make off-schedule plays.

Luton is an intriguing developmental quarterback with good size, adequate accuracy and an NFL arm. He’s operated in a pro-style passing attack with plenty of play-action and has the ability to push the ball into space both intermediate and deep. He values the football with few fumbles and interceptions during his career, but he’s more of a “ball delivery” passer than one who works through progressions and picks the defense apart. Mobility and making off-schedule plays aren’t going to be his thing. He’s a pro-style quarterback with developmental traits who could hear his name late on Day 3.

Between Gardner Minshew II and Joshua Dobbs, the Jags entered the draft with just two quarterbacks on the roster. That said, it isn’t shocking that Dave Caldwell and company added another player at the position though it’s almost a certainty they will look to add a veteran in the room at some point after the draft.

As for Luton, he could end up being the Jags’ practice squad quarterback with a solid offseason.

Breaking down potential Titans late-round QB target Jake Luton

Could the Titans take a chance on the Oregon State product?

The Tennessee Titans have locked down their quarterback of the future, Ryan Tannehill, with a four-year extension.

But after the departure of Marcus Mariota and with Logan Woodside as the team’s only other signal-caller, Tennessee could very much be looking to bring on another quarterback at some point in the 2020 NFL Draft.

One late-round prospect to possibly consider is Jake Luton of Oregon State.

Pros

Luton definitely has the size and the NFL frame at 6-foot-6 and 224 pounds.

His arm strength is adequate, and he generally takes care of the football, throwing just seven interceptions to his 38 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He also knows when to throw it away and avoid taking a sack.

The signal-caller is comfortable and in command of his offense, stands tall in the pocket and has been impressive on deep throws with a completion rate of 50 percent in the area.

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Patriots asked this Oregon State QB how he’d feel about replacing Tom Brady

Here’s how he answered that question.

The New England Patriots caught Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton off guard. The team pulled aside Luton for a 15-minute, informal interview, and while those meetings are typically a game of get-to-know-you, the quarterback faced a tough question from one of New England’s scouts.

They asked, point-blank, how Luton would feel about replacing Tom Brady, a quarterback who’s had an unprecedented amount of success with six Super Bowl wins with the Patriots.

“I think that was a great question,” Luton told Patriots Wire during a meeting with the media at the 2020 NFL combine on Tuesday. “It was a fair question for them to ask.”

Brady is set to enter free agency in March, and while the Patriots can certainly bring him back next season, they will eventually have to replace the 42-year-old quarterback, whether it’s this year or in the future.

So… how did Luton, a potential late-round pick, respond to the question?

“Those are big shoes to fill. But for me, I’m a pretty even-keeled guy. I kind of reiterated that,” he said. “I’m going to be consistent. I’m going to be prepared as best as I can be. I’ve never let any of the outside noise distract me, so I don’t think that would be an issue. I’d bring it every day and prove that I’m a leader, no matter if it’s a high or a low. Keep doing it every day, however that works out. I’m not going to worry about filling anyone’s shoes. Just doing the best that I can do.”

Luton is a unique prospect. Not only did he spend six years in college (Idaho and Oregon State) due to injuries, but he is also 6-foot-7, a height that has been practically prohibitive for NFL prospects in the past. He said he expected to face more tough questions this week about his injury history, especially considering he suffered a forearm injury and missed his final college game, a bowl matchup against Oregon. He finished his final college season with 2,714 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and three interceptions.

“I’ve seen (the injury history) as a positive thing,” Luton said. “I’ve persevered through a lot of things. I’ve proved that I’m tough. I’ve proved that I love the game of football, and I’m going to battle back from any injury, any circumstance to keep playing the game that I love.”

If he answered the question about Brady’s departure to the Patriots’ liking, perhaps they’ll consider giving Luton a chance to play more football in New England, even if him replacing Brady feels like a long shot.

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