Tag: Travis Etienne

Ranking the RBs in the AFC South entering 2023

The AFC South boasts some strong RBs. How should they be ranked?

The AFC South arguably has the best group of running backs in comparison to the rest of the divisions across the NFL.

Two running backs fall in most analysts’ top five list among all backs in the league, and it also features a pair of young players that will be looking to build off their strong 2022 performances.

MORE: Ranking the QBs in the AFC South

So how do they rank among all four teams in the division? I would like to preface that the only backs included on this list are the top two on each team’s depth chart on Ourlads.

Let’s take a look at how they fall:

Ken Walker NFL’s second-most explosive rusher, per Next Gen Stats

Walker still had an impressive and productive rookie year, especially as an explosive runner.

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Seahawks running back Ken Walker burst onto the scene in 2022, running himself into the conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year. While he ultimately lost that battle, Walker still had an impressive and productive rookie year, especially as an explosive runner.

In fact, according to Next Gen Stats, Walker was the second-most explosive rusher in the entire league last season. Nick Shook at NFL.com says they gave him an “explosive score” of 90, tied with Jaguars running back Travis Etienne for the second-highest in the league. Bears quarterback Justin Fields blew the field away with a score of 98.

Here’s what they had to say about Walker.

“He led all rushers in top speed reached with the ball in his possession at 22.09 mph, tied for third in gains of 10-plus yards over expected (15) and hit 20 mph on four carries on the year (tying for fourth in the category)… Oddly enough, Walker didn’t exceed expectation often, but some of that is a product of Seattle scheming and blocking its way to an expected average of 4.2 yards per Walker carry.”

Walker became Seattle’s starting running back in Week 6 after Rashaad Penny suffered another season-ending injury. He still managed to post over 1,000 rushing yards, nine touchdowns and didn’t fumble once. With Penny gone to Philadelphia, Walker is the clear No. 1 option in the backfield, but he does have competition coming in the form of former UCLA running back, Zach Charbonnet.

Like Walker, Charbonnet is another eyebrow-raising second-round pick by Seattle at running back. While they picked him at No. 52 overall, reports indicate they seriously considered taking him with their No. 37 pick. That speaks to a high level of confidence. Walker may only be an injury away from losing that RB1 spot to the team’s next-big-thing.

More Seahawks Wire stories

NFL offseason power rankings: Where all 32 teams stand going into June

Seahawks fans respond to poll asking if Russell Wilson is franchise GOAT

NFL Free Agency: Where each departing Seattle free agent signed in 2023

Fantasy Football Consistency Rankings – Running Backs

Running backs are the most consistent of all positions since they handle the ball the most. But which backs were money almost every week?

This ranking considers running backs that started at least 10 games in 2022 Fantasy points were derived using one point per 10 yards rushed or received, six-point touchdowns rushed and one point receptions. Running backs may be devalued in fantasy and the NFL, but they are still likely the most consistent players on your team.

Also see: Quarterbacks | Wide receivers | Tight ends

NAME 15-pt % Gms 15 Pts 25 Pts 100 Yds TD
Christian McCaffrey 76% 17 13 6 11 11
Austin Ekeler 76% 17 13 6 7 11
Saquon Barkley 75% 16 12 2 8 10
Derrick Henry 63% 16 10 4 12 10
Nick Chubb 59% 17 10 2 11 9
Josh Jacobs 53% 17 9 4 9 8
Rhamondre Stevenson 47% 17 8 1 5 5
Ezekiel Elliott 47% 15 7 0 0 10
Joe Mixon 47% 15 7 1 4 5
James Conner 46% 13 6 1 4 7
Jonathan Taylor 45% 11 5 1 3 4
Dalvin Cook 41% 17 7 3 5 9
Jamaal Williams 41% 17 7 0 3 10
Tony Pollard 38% 16 6 2 7 7
D’Andre Swift 36% 14 5 2 3 7
Aaron Jones 35% 17 6 2 6 5
Kenneth Walker III 33% 15 5 2 6 6
Alvin Kamara 33% 15 5 2 7 2
Kenyan Drake 33% 12 4 0 2 4
Leonard Fournette 31% 16 5 2 4 5
David Montgomery 31% 16 5 0 3 5
Raheem Mostert 31% 16 5 0 3 5
Dameon Pierce 31% 13 4 1 6 5
Cordarrelle Patterson 31% 13 4 0 2 7
Clyde Edwards-Helaire 30% 10 3 0 1 4
Miles Sanders 29% 17 5 3 4 8
Najee Harris 29% 17 5 1 2 9
James Robinson 27% 11 3 0 1 4
D’Onta Foreman 25% 16 4 1 5 3
Tyler Allgeier 25% 16 4 0 5 4
Rachaad White 25% 16 4 0 2 3
Travis Etienne 24% 17 4 2 8 4
AJ Dillon 24% 17 4 0 1 6
Devin Singletary 24% 17 4 0 2 5

The Big 4 – Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry – all shined in consistency as expected. But Rhamondre Stevenson, Ezekiel Elliott, and James Conner were surprisingly effective with 15-point efforts. Josh Jacobs managed a career-year and yet was only No. 6 when considering how often he had a high-point performance. That’s the effect of big games on total points.

But the dialing back of workhorse backs continued with only six backs topping those 15 points in more than half of their games. There were 14 such backs in 2021, and that’s a major reason why the position is coming so much cheaper this summer.

We also saw those top backs of 2021 suffer major decline with major fantasy-point drops from Jonathan Taylor, Najee Harris, Alvin Kamara, and Darrell Henderson.

25-pt Games 100-total-yard Games Games with TD
Christian McCaffrey 6 Derrick Henry 12 Christian McCaffrey 11
Austin Ekeler 6 Christian McCaffrey 11 Austin Ekeler 11
Derrick Henry 4 Nick Chubb 11 Saquon Barkley 10
Josh Jacobs 4 Josh Jacobs 9 Derrick Henry 10
Dalvin Cook 3 Saquon Barkley 8 Ezekiel Elliott 10
Miles Sanders 3 Travis Etienne 8 Jamaal Williams 10
Saquon Barkley 2 Austin Ekeler 7 Nick Chubb 9
Nick Chubb 2 Tony Pollard 7 Dalvin Cook 9
Tony Pollard 2 Alvin Kamara 7 Najee Harris 9
D’Andre Swift 2 Aaron Jones 6 Josh Jacobs 8
Aaron Jones 2 Kenneth Walker III 6 Miles Sanders 8
Kenneth Walker III 2 Dameon Pierce 6 James Conner 7
Alvin Kamara 2 Rhamondre Stevenson 5 Tony Pollard 7
Leonard Fournette 2 Dalvin Cook 5 D’Andre Swift 7
Travis Etienne 2 D’Onta Foreman 5 Cordarrelle Patterson 7

A top running back is still an advantage, but the drop-off happens more quickly than in prior years. Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb remain elite rushers who don’t add much as receivers, but it still gives them better consistency from week to week.

3 Jaguars on ESPN’s list of 100 most valuable NFL players

Trevor Lawrence was the eighth most valuable player in the NFL this season, according to ESPN Analytics.

Trevor Lawrence was the eighth most valuable player of the 2022 NFL regular season, according to ESPN Analytics, and two other Jacksonville Jaguars were in the top 100.

Coming in at 49th on the list is cornerback Tyson Campbell with running back Travis Etienne Jr. near the bottom at 90th.

Lawrence, 23, finished his second NFL season with 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions, a 95.2 passer rating, and five rushing touchdowns. It was arguably the best season any Jaguars quarterback has ever had and ESPN’s Seth Walder argued that it happened without much help.

Lawrence’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but I’m partial to the notion that Lawrence carried an offense without a ton of help. The Jaguars ranked 31st in pass block win rate, for example. Kevin Cole illustrates the point quite well with his adjusted quarterback efficiency, which also notes that Lawrence played with a group of receivers that were subpar at getting open, per our Receiver Tracking Metrics, and had a high rate of drops.

Just five quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert — finished ahead of Lawrence.

Campbell was the sixth cornerback on the list and Etienne was the fifth running back.

Notable Jaguars omissions include wide receiver Christian Kirk, tight end Evan Engram, linebacker Foye Oluokun, and pass rusher Josh Allen. There were 13 edge rushers on the list, including second overall pick Aidan Hutchinson.

Doug Pederson gave the Saints a look at what-should-have-been in Jaguars’ playoff win

Doug Pederson gave the Saints a look at what-should-have-been in his Jaguars’ playoff win. They were one of the few teams to interview the Super Bowl winner last year:

That’s tough. Just two teams interviewed Doug Pederson for their head coach vacancy last offseason — the New Orleans Saints, who went with Dennis Allen instead; and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who Pederson rallied to upset the Los Angeles Chargers after falling behind by a 27 points on Saturday night. It’s a brutal look at what-could-have-been for New Orleans had they hired the Super Bowl winner and proud Louisiana-Monroe product.

Sure, having Trevor Lawrence at quarterback certainly helped. But Pederson deserves a ton of credit for settling Lawrence down after the second-year quarterback threw four interceptions to open the game; he made things look easy with intelligent play designs and effective running from Travis Etienne Jr. (who averaged 5.5 yards per carry). Lawrence completed touchdown passes to four different receivers and scored a crucial two-point conversion to cut into the Chargers’ deficit.

But the biggest play of the night wasn’t the game-winning field goal as time expired. It’s what happened immediately beforehand. Facing 4th-and-1 from the Chargers 41-yard line with a minute and a half left in regulation (while trailing by two points), Pederson dug into his bag and came up with a gutsy play. The Jaguars have had success this season sending Lawrence on a dive up the middle in these short-yardage situations, and the Chargers defense knew it. So Pederson bunched up the formation with several running backs surrounding Lawrence in the backfield, positioned as if to push him forward.

And the Chargers took the bait. The ball was snapped, L.A. bit on it, and instead of diving forward Lawrence turned on his heel and handed the ball off to Etienne, who flowed untouched out wide around the formation and into the open field for a gain of 25 yards. That got the Jaguars into field goal position, stunned the Chargers sideline, and burned a lot of time off the clock. A couple of timeouts and procedural runs later, Jacksonville celebrated its win while the Chargers gathered for a long flight back to Los Angeles.

This is what the Saints have missed under Dennis Allen’s management of the team (among other things). Pederson has a background coaching strong offenses and taking an aggressive approach to put his players in position to win, creatively designing plays and adapting to the skill sets available to him. And when faced with an opportunity to put the game away like this, he didn’t hesitate or settle for kicking the ball away and giving his opponents a shot at coming back. He went for the kill, and he was rewarded for it.

We didn’t see that kind of ambition from Allen in 2022. The Saints faced a fourth-and-short (needing 1 to 3 yards to convert) situation from inside the opposing 41-yard line on 24 occasions this season, and Allen chose to punt the ball away 20 times. That’s not to say Allen doesn’t have the chops to make a call like this, but we didn’t see it in 2022. Maybe he needs a quarterback he can trust to show us something special. Finding a passer and a play caller who can get the most out of them (not to mention talents already on the roster like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed, among others) has to be New Orleans’ highest offseason priority.

And it’s still frustrating to see Pederson as the one who got away. He probably would have experienced many of the same struggles as Allen as Saints head coach, sure. He can’t control injuries or poor quarterback play from a couple of players who already washed out of their last teams. But it sure feels like a better play caller could have averaged more than 19 points on the season and more than 13.5 points per game in the last six weeks. It’s a shame the Saints didn’t hire Pederson when they had the chance. Instead, he’s guiding his team into a surprise playoff run while New Orleans’ brass are watching them from the couch with the rest of us.

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Chargers HC Brandon Staley heaps praise on Jaguars RB Travis Etienne

Jaguars RB Travis Etienne is a player the Chargers will need to hone in on.

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is looking to get his team their first playoff win since 2018 in their Wild Card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend.

In his comments to the media, he made it clear that Jaguars running back Travis Etienne will be a significant threat to his defense in the game and told reporters about the respect he has for his skillset.

“[Travis] Etienne is a really good back,” Staley said. “I think you have seen it all season long. Had a lot of respect for him coming out. He is a complete back. I think that is what he has shown.

He can run between the tackles, outside on the perimeter. He is a good pass-catcher. He does a good job in pass protection, for a young player. He was a high pick in the first round, and you can see all of that talent on display, especially as the season progressed. He has been one of the keys, I think, for their football team, playing at a high level down the stretch.”

Etienne, the second-year back, finished the season with 1,121 rushing yards, with an average of 5.1 yards per rush attempt and five touchdowns.

Etienne does his most damage outside the tackles, particularly on the left side, where he averages 8.2 yards per carry (5.35 yards after contact per attempt) and has seven carries over ten yards.

The Chargers have been stronger against the run in recent weeks, but they showed to be vulnerable to it in the loss against the Broncos, where they allowed 205 rushing yards.

Therefore, the defense must be stout at the point of attack and seal edges up front in the trenches, and second and third-level defenders must take proper angles to the football and wrap up and tackle in the open field.

While Etienne will be a concern for the Chargers’ coaching staff heading into this matchup, Jacksonville’s well-rounded offense has plenty of other weapons to make Los Angeles pay if they are given an opening.

4 areas where Chargers must improve going into Wild Card Round vs. Jaguars

We identified four areas where the Chargers need to improve as the playoffs get underway on Saturday.

The Chargers are hot, winning their last four of five games. However, they have to improve in certain areas to avoid being one-and-done. Which areas may be most vital in making necessary adjustments?

We identified four areas Los Angeles could improve as its postseason play kicks off on Saturday night against the Jaguars.

 

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Tom Brady 432-4 4
 Daniel Jones 177-91 4
 Jarrett Stidham 365-34 3
 Sam Darnold 341-20 3
 Russell Wilson 222-27 3
Running Backs Rush
Receive		 TD
Austin Ekeler 10-122
4-39		 2
Christian McCaffrey 19-121
6-72		 1
D’Andre Swift 11-78
4-39		 2
Raheem Mostert 9-29
8-62		 1
Travis Etienne 9-108
3-32		 1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Mike Evans 10-207 3
Davante Adams 7-153 2
Brandon Aiyuk 9-101
1-16		 1
Amari Cooper 3-105 2
D.J. Moore 6-117 1
Tight Ends Yards TD
Dalton Schultz 7-56 2
Trey McBride 7-78 1
Brock Wright 3-13 2
Darren Waller 3-72 1
Colby Parkinson 5-36 1
Placekickers XP FG
Robbie Gould 4 3
Matt Prater 1 4
Mason Crosby 5 2
Jason Myers 2 3
Mike Badgley 2 3
Defense Sack – TO TD
Packers 2-4 2
Jaguars 2-1 1
Seahawks 4-3 0
Saints 5-1 1
Patriots 2-2 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Teddy Bridgewater (MIA) – Finger
QB Nick Foles (IND) – Ribs
RB James Conner (ARI) – Shin
WR Skyy Moore (KC) – Hand
WR Dante Pettis (CHI) – Concussion
WR Robbie Anderson (ARI) – Back
WR Jakobi Meyers (NE) – Shoulder

Chasing Ambulances

QB Teddy Bridgewater – It is believed that he broke a finger in his throwing hand when it hit a helmet. He’ll receive X-rays but it is likely to keep him out for the final regular season game. Tua Tagovailoa remains out with his second concussion of the year and Skylar Thompson is in line to start.

QB Nick Foles – Received a hard hit to the midsection and started convulsing on the field, which was made surreal when the tackler, Kayvon Thibodeaux, lay beside him making invisible snow angels. He walked to the sideline but was then brought by cart to the locker room. Sam Ehlinger replaced him and would finish out the final game against the Texans if needed.

RB James Conner – Left for the fourth quarter with a shin injury and did not return. HC Kliff  Kingsbury has no updates after the game other than saying, “it didn’t seem to be too bad, but we’ll check him out and see how it goes.” Corey Clement replaced him in the loss to the Falcons.

WR Jakobi Meyers – He aggravated his shoulder injury when he caught a touchdown against the Dolphins. He said that he was fine and barring any surprising news this week, he is expected to play against the Bills this week.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

RB Travis Etienne (JAC) – The Jacksonville running back hadn’t scored since Week 9 but produced over 100 total yards for the last two weeks. Versus the Texans, Etienne ran for 108 yards and a score on just nine carries, and caught three passes for 32 yards. It was a 28-point blowout but Etienne got in his fantasy points early and has been a consistent contributor in the fantasy playoffs.

WR Kadarius Toney (KC) – The mid-season acquisition led the Chiefs with four catches for 71 yards in the win over the Broncos. He was only used for one catch in each of the last two games, but came through in Week 17 against one of the better secondaries.

RB Jerick McKinnon (KC) – He caught five passes for 56 yards versus Denver and scored two more touchdowns. That gives him eight touchdowns over the last five games. The 30-year-old running back is playing on a one-year contract and has become the best weapon of the Chiefs for the last month.

QB Carousel – Here’s an interesting tidbit for those who like to stream quarterbacks or wait late to grab one. Of the 32 NFL quarterbacks that started the Week 1 game for their team, only 18 of them are starting in Week 17 for the same team. And that doesn’t count Carson Wentz who just now returned.

RB Raheem Mostert (MIA) – The Miami running back has been good for around 40 yards in most games, and had a freakish 17-136 stat-line against the Bills in Week 15 while Jeff Wilson was out.  Wilson was back and led the backfield with 15 carries for 45 yards in the loss to the Pats, while Mostert ran for 29 yards on nine carries. But – both backs usually catch one or two passes per game. Mostert led the Fins with eight catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. And five of those catches came from Skylar Thompson in the fourth quarter. He’ll likely need to catch more this week with the Jets looking to shut down the wideouts and Thompson potentially starting.

Patriots backfield – Disappointing to fantasy owners to see that Damien  Harris returned from his four-week absence with a hip injury and Rhamondre Stevenson was limited to only eight runs for 42 yards while Harris gained 32 yards on nine carries. And Harris caught three passes to only two for Stevenson.  Granted, Stevenson is questionable to play every week, wink-wink, and ran for 172 yards two weeks ago.

QB Daniel Jones (NYG) –  The Giants’ quarterback started the year with ample rushing stats but scaled that back since midseason. After Week 7, he only scored twice via the run and bounced between 14 and around 40 yards in almost every game. Against the Colts, Jones suddenly ran for as season-high 11 times and gained 91 yards and two touchdowns. He was effective and didn’t let up just because they were crushing the Colts. His two scores came in the third and fourth quarters.

TE Taysom Hill (NO) – Hill has seen an uptick in usage with nine carries for 56 yards and a score in Week 16 at the Browns. On Sunday at the Eagles, Hill had his busiest game of the year with two passes, one catch for nine yards, and a season-high 14 rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown.

QB Jarrett Stidham (LV) – Maybe the 49ers underestimated the Raiders’ new starting quarterback? Everyone I know did, including me. Then again, Stidham’s only playing time was in Week 8 when he threw 13 passes at the Saints. Going against one of the top defenses in the NFL of the 49ers, Stidham passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions and sent the game into overtime. He threw the interception which set-up the 49ers eventual winning field goal. But the fair question is if his first ever NFL start results in 365 passing yards, how come Derek Carr hasn’t reached that yardage this year? It cannot be because Stidham had a cakewalk matchup.

RB Kenneth Walker (SEA) – The rookie just ran for 133 yards on 23 carries versus the Jets’ defense. That’s his third 100-yard effort of the season and he already logged nine touchdowns. He’s making a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

WR Justin Jefferson (MIN) – He’s still the top fantasy receiver, but an illustration of how things change and evolve came on Sunday. Jefferson recorded nine catches for 184 yards and two scores in Week 1 against the Packers. On Sunday, he was held to one catch for 15 yards on his five targets.

RB Najee Harris (PIT) – After a painfully unproductive first eight games, Harris picked up the pace with five scores and mostly 80+ yard games since midseason. Against the Ravens, he broke the century mark for the first time this season when he ran 22 times for 111 yards and tacked on two catches for 12 yards that included the 10-yard game-winner with 56 seconds left to play.

Huddle player of the week

Mike Evans  –  Talk about trying to make up for lost time. Evans had been only marginally fantasy relevant for the last seven games when he failed to score and averaged under 50 yards per game. Against the Panthers, he rolled up ten catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns. That was the highest-scoring fantasy player of the week, and it doubled his scores which are still down from last year. Last week, he only caught three passes for 29 yard at the Cardinals.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Jarrett Stidham 399 3 QB Trevor Lawrence 152 0
RB JaMycal Hasty 56 1 RB Dalvin Cook 44 0
RB Raheem Mostert 91 1 RB David Montgomery 36 0
WR Jalen Nailor 89 1 WR Justin Jefferson 15 0
WR Shi Smith 70 1 WR Tyler Lockett 15 0
WR Tyquan Thornton 60 1 WR Garrett Wilson 18 0
TE Brock Wright 13 2 TE Evan Engram 29 0
PK Matt Prater 1  XP  4  FG PK Harrison Butker 3 XP
Huddle Fantasy Points =  110 Huddle Fantasy Points = 22

Now get back to work…

Lovie Smith says Texans defense must tackle better

Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith says the defense has to tackle better following the 31-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Lovie Smith expected the Houston Texans to play better in Week 17 than they did.

The Texans, who have been kicked around throughout 2022, sought to extend their win streak over the Jacksonville Jaguars to 10. Houston’s AFC South rivals finally struck back with a 31-3 beatdown Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

“The plan was for us to play a lot better than we did today,” Smith said. “We’ve been playing better football than we played today, all three phases. Defensively, we got to tackle better. That’s been a tough spot for us a lot of the year. We had opportunities.”

Houston entered Week 17 tied with the Jaguars for the fifth-most missed tackles in the league with 77. The Texans may have broken the tie with their missed tackles against Jacksonville.

A blatant example was on Jaguars running back Travis Etienne’s 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Not only were the Texans out of their run fits on the play, but rookie safety Jalen Pitre bounced off of Etienne at the second level.

“These explosive runs, we had been playing them better, but today we didn’t,” said Smith. “Too many missed tackles which lead to big plays like that.”

The Texans failed to earn a victory at NRG Stadium in 2022. The only game wherein Houston avoided a home loss was Week 1 when they tied with the Indianapolis Colts.

Smith acknowledged the ignominious distinction of Houston failing to get a home win for the first time in team history — on Fan Appreciation Day no less — and moved on.

Said: “Whenever you talk about a first-time, something that’s never been done, you know, as I said, the plan, of course, was to play a lot better. When you play like that, it’s not going to happen. We’re not going to win one, so there’s nothing else to really say on that.”

Houston closes out the regular season in Week 18 against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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Trevor Lawrence: ‘We have a lot of guys who have something to prove’

The Jaguars roster is full of skill position players aiming to prove the doubters wrong.

The Jacksonville Jaguars offense is on a roll and Trevor Lawrence is leading the way.

After a dominant 19-3 victory for the Jaguars on Thursday, Lawrence joined the crew on the Prime Video postgame show. When former Chiefs and Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez asked about Jaguars skill position players like Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram, Lawrence was ready to gush about his teammates.

“We have a lot of guys who — we have a lot of really talented guys, for one — but we have a lot of guys that I just feel like have something to prove,” Lawrence told the crew at Amazon Prime after the team’s win. “They have that mindset and we’ve all really rallied around each other from the beginning.”

Lawrence certainly isn’t wrong. Etienne is a second-year back who missed his entire rookie year due to a Lisfranc injury, Kirk received a contract that was widely panned as an overpay, and Engram is on a one-year contract after earning a reputation for drops with the New York Giants.

There’s also Zay Jones, a former second-round pick putting up career numbers with his third NFL team, Marvin Jones Jr, a 32-year-old veteran on an expiring contract, and Jamal Agnew, a former defensive back seeking to become an offensive playmaker.

The Jaguars roster is full of players aiming to prove themselves, but that’s largely the nature of a team that finished back-to-back seasons with the NFL’s worst record. With four wins in the last five weeks, a lot of those Jaguars players are taking advantage of their opportunity.