Tag: luke fortner

Jaguars rookies ranked as 6th best class of 2022 by ESPN

Travon Walker got all the attention, but it was Jaguars rookie center Luke Fortner who impressed ESPN most this season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t get a Defensive Rookie of the Year season out of No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker, but the collective performance of the team’s rookies was among the best in the league this season, according to ESPN.

In a ranking of all 32 NFL teams’ rookie classes, the Jaguars came in at sixth.

Walker was part of the reason, as were linebackers Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, but it was Luke Fortner who was highlighted by ESPN as the most notable of the group.

No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker had all the attention, but he was not the Jaguars’ most valuable rookie. Instead, third-round pick Luke Fortner went directly into the starting lineup at center, played all 17 games and finished second among offensive linemen in SIS total points. He had a low 1.8% blown block rate and just one sack allowed.

Fortner, 24, was the 65th overall pick in April and beat out Tyler Shatley in training camp for the starting center role. He never missed a snap during the regular season and earned rave reviews from his coaches and teammates.

“The way he communicates and carries himself … if you told me he is a rookie, I would have told you you were crazy, because he’s one of the smartest rookies I’ve ever played with,” Jaguars veteran guard Brandon Scherff said earlier this month.

Walker finished the regular season with 3.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble. Lloyd had three interceptions and Muma had 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.

Jaguars’ Brandon Scherff, Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman sit out Tuesday

Jaguars guard Brandon Scherff sat out practice Tuesday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were without right guard Brandon Scherff and long snapper Ross Matiscik in the first practice ahead of a Divisional Round game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Neither absence were particularly surprising as both players have been dealing with injuries and missing practice time for several weeks. Neither player has missed a game.

The only new addition to the Jaguars’ list of injuries was center Luke Fortner, who was limited Tuesday with a back problem.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has appeared on every Jaguars injury report for over a month due to a toe sprain.

For the Chiefs, the only absence Tuesday was wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who was activated off injured reserve earlier in January.

Kansas City has been without Hardman since Week 9. In the eight games he did play this season, Hardman had 25 receptions, 297 yards, and four touchdowns.

The Jaguars have two more scheduled practices before they’ll travel to Kansas City on Friday. The game at Arrowhead Stadium is scheduled to kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. Chiefs in Week 10

Who do the Jaguars need to step up most Sunday if they hope to upset the Chiefs?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a tall task Sunday if they hope to make it back-to-back wins.

To follow up a Week 9 win against the Las Vegas Raiders with another victory, the Jaguars will have to take down the perennial AFC powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs. For four straight years, the Chiefs have reached the AFC Championship and in two of those years, the team earned a trip to the Super Bowl.

Unsurprisingly, the 6-2 Chiefs are large favorites against the 3-6 Jaguars in Week 10.

If the Jaguars hope to spring the upset, these five players will have to step up in a big way Sunday:

5 studs and duds from the Jaguars’ 29-21 loss vs. Eagles

The duds outnumbered the studs in a rough week for the Jaguars.

The groundswell of momentum and excitement the Jacksonville Jaguars built through the end of September dampered quite a bit Sunday when they opened October with a 29-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jacksonville couldn’t stop the run at all, allowing Eagles running back Miles Sanders to have a career day with 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Jaguars offense, on the other hand, looked like it was playing with a football that was rolled in a tub of Vaseline.

The good news is that on a day when seemingly nothing went right for the Jaguars after the first quarter, they still only lost by one score to an undefeated team. The bad news is that the duds outnumbered the studs this week:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. Eagles in Week 4

The Jaguars will need big games out of these five players if they hope to upset the Eagles.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on a roll after back-to-back blowout wins, but now they have their toughest test of the season so far against the NFL’s only undefeated team.

The Philadelphia Eagles won a Week 1 shootout against the Detroit Lions and then steamrolled over the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders in Weeks 2 and 3. Both the Jaguars and the Eagles are top 10 in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, and total defense.

For the Jaguars to pull off the upset, they’ll need big games out of several key players. Here are five who will be important in Week 4 against the Eagles:

2022 Jaguars training camp: 5 takeaways from Days 1-2

From Trevor Lawrence’s performance so far, to James Robinson’s recovery process, plus more, here are some takeaways we’ve garnered from Jags training camp,

The Jacksonville Jaguars have wrapped up their first two days of training camp under Doug Pederson after taking the field on Monday and Tuesday. Both of these days have been used more as an acclimation period after the team had several weeks off, but they’ve made the most of them and seem like they will be in good shape when the pads go on.

This year there has been a different feel to camp, and it isn’t just because of the Jags’ coaching change. The team has been practicing from a new location just a few miles away from their headquarters at Episcopal School of Jacksonville. Of course, the reason for that is because they are currently having construction done on their practice fields where a whole new football facility is being built. Still, the change hasn’t affected the team much, and it seems like they’ve adapted just fine in Days 1-2.

As for the specifics about how things have gone, here are a few takeaways we’ve gained from the first two days of Jags training camp:

Bleacher Report predicts Luke Fortner to be Jags’ surprise gem

Bleacher Report’s Ian Wharton believes the Jags got a gem in OL Luke Fortner, who the team took with the 65th pick overall.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to need big-time contributions from their rookie class if they are to surprise people and make the postseason. Fans will especially be watching offensive lineman Luke Fortner because he was the only early-round offensive selection the Jags made.

Fortner, who was taken with the 65th pick of the draft, could end up being a starter for the Jags though he’s going to have to compete with some veteran players to do so. If he’s going to start at center, he’s going to have to beat out veteran Tyler Shatley, who has started in 33 games for the Jags. If he’s not starting there, the only other place he could play is possibly at left guard, where his biggest competition could be Ben Bartch.

Bleacher Report’s Ian Wharton is among the people who are high on Fortner, like several scouts. He placed Fortner on his list of 32 rookies (one from each team) who could be a surprise gem.

Here is what Wharton had to say about Fortner’s ability to make an impact for the Jags:

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t had a great offensive line in years, but that wasn’t because of longtime center Brandon Linder. His surprise retirement opened a hole on a line that was getting a face-lift this offseason. With the first pick in the third round, Jacksonville addressed its need with Luke Fortner.

The versatile interior blocker from Kentucky was a shrewd pickup. Experienced at both guard and center during three seasons, Fortner has a skill set that will allow him to succeed early. His play style is similar to Linder’s despite being slightly smaller.

Expect to see the 6’6″, 300-pound Fortner rely on his strength as a rookie. He’s a solid run-blocker who finishes plays through the whistle. Jacksonville added a lot of nastiness to its offensive line this offseason between Fortner and guard Brandon Scherff.

One could see why Wharton and others feel Fortner could be successful early as he was a first-teamer for the All-SEC squad in 2021. His selection to the group came as Fortner faced elite competition while at Kentucky as he lined up against Georgia’s Travon Walker and Jordan Davis and many other high-round selections. He’s also got a high football IQ, which is a big plus at the center position.

When considering Fortner’s success within the best conference in collegiate football, Wharton is wise to believe Fortner will be a solid addition for the Jags. However, training camp is going to be huge for him as he’ll have to compete with players who have significantly more NFL experience in Shatley and Bartch.

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WATCH: Behind-the-scenes look at Jaguars’ draft process

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ process heading into the 2022 NFL draft

For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars kicked off the NFL draft with the No. 1 overall pick, but this year’s selection was a bit more surprising.

After spending the top pick on quarterback Trevor Lawrence last year, the Jags threw a bit of a curveball this time around, selecting Georgia edge defender Travon Walker.

They weren’t done in the first round, either. Jacksonville traded up from the No. 33 overall pick in the second round with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, jumping up to No. 27 for Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd.

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the Jags’ draft process:

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NFL.com questions whether Tyson Campbell is guaranteed to start in lineup projections for Jags

NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal shared his roster predictions for the Jags this week and he found the competition at the CB position to be rather interesting.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a busy offseason and added several new players through free agency, the draft, and undrafted free agency. When looking at the number of additions made, it’s clear the roster is going to be shaken up when comparing it to last season’s group.

Of course, with Trevor Lawrence being the team’s most important player, the starting lineup on offense around him will be what’s on most people’s minds. However, there are some potential changes in the defensive lineup that are worth watching, too.

NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal believes the cornerback position is worth watching for the Jags as they recently signed Darious Williams from the Los Angeles Rams. For that reason, he was left wondering if 2021 second-round pick Tyson Campbell would be starting again as Williams signed a noteworthy contract for three years worth $30 million.

Here is Rosenthal’s full roster projection for the Jags, in addition to his thoughts on the cornerback spot.

 
OFFENSE PLAYER DEFENSE PLAYER
QB Trevor Lawrence DE Roy Robertson-Harris
RB James Robinson DT Foley Fatukasi
WR Christian Kirk OLB Josh Allen
WR Marvin Jones LB Foye Oluokun
WR Zay Jones LB Devin Lloyd
TE Evan Engram OLB Travon Walker
LT Cam Robinson CB Shaquill Griffin
LG Ben Bartch CB Darious Williams
C Tyler Shatley CB Tyson Campbell
RG Brandon Scherff S Rayshawn Jenkins
RT Walker Little S Andre Cisco

Last year in this space I wondered if the Jaguars had three outside corners and no obvious option at nickel. The same is true this year. After handing out big money to Darious Williams, is Tyson Campbell guaranteed to start? Safety and nickel back are two of the only open competitions on the roster.

Campbell struggled a bit early in 2021 when he was placed into the starting lineup, but he came on strong after the bye week and looked like the best cornerback on the team. When looking around the league at the rest of the rookie corners, Campbell also ranked second in interceptions and incompletions caused (11).

When factoring this in with the fact that he was drafted too high to play the nickel position and the fact that he looked better on the perimeter than at nickel, it feels like Campbell’s chances to start are high. That will put the Jags in a scenario where Williams is likely the starting nickel with the possibility to kick to the outside as the Jags get closer to the end of Shaquill Griffin’s contract.

Aside from that, there isn’t much to disagree with when looking at the chart above made by Rosenthal aside from a few things. One of them is the starting center position where he has Tyler Shatley starting over third-round rookie Luke Fortner. He could be right, but at the same time, Trent Baalke isn’t in a position to let his top draft picks sit on the bench after two seasons where the Jags had the worst record in the NFL.

However, Shatley does have a ton of experience and has started 33 games, which is hard to overlook. That said, if he ends up earning the role in training camp, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Fortner competing for the left guard spot instead.

Another thing that’s in question is the starting running back role. James Robinson undoubtedly should be the RB1 when looking at his body of work, but he’s not expected to return to the field until training camp from the Achilles injury he sustained last December. With first-round rookie Travis Etienne being cleared from his Lisfranc injury recently, he will have a head start on Robinson, which is something to consider when looking at the competition at the position.

Jags third round selection Luke Fortner signs his rookie contract

The Jags’ full 2022 NFL Draft class has been signed. Third-round rookie Luke Fortner, who was the lone unsigned pick for the team, put pen to paper on Thursday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed all of their rookie selections from April’s draft.

The team announced that third-round selection, Luke Fortner, signed his rookie contract Thursday, who was the team’s lone draft pick without a deal. The news comes after fellow third-round selection Chad Muma, who was the draft’s 70th selection, signed his deal yesterday after the team took him five picks after Fortner.

Fortner was drafted out of the University of Kentucky after playing in 44 games for them. While there, he started at various positions on the offensive line, taking 1,181 snaps at guard and 848 snaps at center, with the latter position being the one he’s played most recently.

The Jags drafted Fortner for his versatility, but likely view him as their future starter at center. However, he will have to battle veteran Tyler Shatley for the role, and if he can’t win it, it’s possible Fortner could start his career off as a guard.

According to Over the Cap’s projections, the total value for Fortner’s deal is just over $5.7 million. His total signing bonus is projected to be $1.3 million throughout a four-year contract.