Day 7 was perhaps the most entertaining Jacksonville Jaguars practice yet.
Both sides of the ball made plays in team drills as several linemen on offense and defense stood out in more ways than one. Trevor Lawrence made some of his best throws of camp as the offense hit its stride, but the defense had several impact moments of its own.
All in all, the second day of pads was the best evaluation of the Jaguars yet. Several players stood out as the complete picture of the 2022 squad became clearer.
So, what all did we see at Monday's practice at Episcopal School of Jacksonville Knight Campus? We break it down below.
Walker Little has arrived during the right tackle battle
It is hard to say any progress was made on the right tackle battle at all before pads came on for multiple reasons. For one, there is no real full-speed test for the offensive and defensive lines, so it is unfair to say either Jawaan Taylor or Walker Little impressed without pads on. Then there is the fact that Taylor has missed the last several practices with a hamstring injury, which has led to Little getting all of the first-team reps at right tackle.
Little struggled at times on Sunday as the Jaguars put the pads on for the first time, losing battles to Josh Allen, K'Lavon Chaisson and Travon Walker, all while still having some strong moments of his own. He was dominant on Monday though, providing a tough matchup for each of Allen, Chaisson and Walker. Chaisson couldn't beat him around the arc, while Allen and Walker's attempts inside and on a bull rush failed to beat him either.
There should still be expectations for some growing pains as Little continues to learn the right tackle position, but he has the athleticism to suggest he can play both sides, and he looks noticeably bigger and stronger this season. Little did a 180 on Monday compared to the first day in pads, making for an interesting development in the right tackle battle.
Taylor should still be expected to get reps with the 1s and have a chance to win the job when he returns from injury, but good days from Little like the day he had on Monday can't hurt him or the Jaguars' quest for offensive line depth.
Trevor Lawrence makes some highlight throws as offense and defense trade punches
Trevor Lawrence had one of his best days of training camp -- if not his best overall day -- on Monday. The Jaguars' defense made some plays early on during a blitz drill, but that kind of still is set-up for the defense to have an advantage. While the defense did exactly what they were supposed to with two sacks by Josh Allen (Lawrence threw an interception after one Allen sack, but the play was dead), Shaquille Quarterman, and Jay Tufele, the offense punched back in a big way.
In the next period of 11-on-11, the Jaguars' offense generated several big plays. Trevor Lawrence made a pair of outstanding throws in the red-zone to Christian Kirk and Chris Manhertz, each resulting in touchdowns against tight coverage. The throw to Manhertz showed the kind of rare arm Lawrence has, with the throw fitting into such a tight window against Foyesade Oluokun that it actually helped Manhertz as he powered his way into the end-zone, because Oluokun was in front of him.
Travis Etienne also had a long touchdown run around the left side, finding space and exploding for a 20-yard touchdown as the Jaguars' offensive line and receivers held their blocks, giving the offense a complete showing. Then in 11-on-11 drills to end practice, the two sides continued to trade blows, with Etienne and Dan Arnold getting big gains through the air and Lawrence throwing a beauty to Evan Engram, who beat tight coverage for a touchdown.
The defense had its moments to end the day too, though. Shaquill Griffin knocked away a pass intended for Marvin Jones, Josh Allen stuffed an Etienne run to the outside and Jenkins made what would have been a likely touchdown-saving tackle on Etienne on another run, limiting it instead to a handful of yards.
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It was the kind of day where each side of the ball made legitimately big plays off the merit of their own execution, not because of mistakes by the other side of the ball. It was a good day for the team as a whole because you could see genuine growth from both sides.
Trench report
The Jaguars had another day of 1-on-1s between the offensive and defensive line, and it gave us a great chance to watch several key matchups. We already discussed Little's wins, but there was so much more that the day gave us that we break it down here.
- Dawuane Smoot had an outstanding rep against Brandon Scherff. Scherff has been legitimately elite all camp and especially since pads have come on, but Smoot finished one pass-rush against him with a hump move that sent Scherff to the ground. It was a great rush from Smoot against one of the NFL's best guards. Smoot also put Luke Fortner on the ground during blitz drills.
- Cam Robinson continues to have a good camp. He did well against both Travon Walker and K'Lavon Chaisson on Monday, but he also won reps against Josh Allen. He looks like he is playing with a lot of confidence and it has helped him greatly so far.
- DaVon Hamilton continues to be a terror in 1-on-1s. They are designed to give defensive linemen an advantage, but Hamilton still has been a particularly impressive handful as he had impressive wins vs. both K.C. McDermott and Luke Fortner.
- It wasn't all bad for Fortner, who did have one nice rep against Roy Robertson-Harris, who is a much different type of lineman than Hamilton. Fortner also had a strong rep against Hamilton himself, holding his ground after one rep where Hamilton pushed him like a sled.
- Will Richardson had a fun battle against Chaisson. Richardson won two of the reps, though Chaisson did beat him with a nasty cross-chop move that saw him quickly get to the quarterback.
- Tyler Shatley doesn't look out of place at guard, against having a good practice against Adam Gotsis and Arden Key.
- Jay Tufele and Ben Bartch split a pair of reps in impressive fashion. Tufele showed a good rip move to get to the quarterback on one play, while Bartch nearly put his teammate in the ground on another rep.
Snoop Conner has a standout day
The standout rookie at Monday's practice wasn't Travon Walker, even though he had a few impressive stops in the backfield against the run; nor was it Luke Fortner or Chad Muma. Instead, it was fifth-round running back Snoop Conner, who came up big with huge plays consistently throughout the day.
The rookie running back has impressed throughout camp and has improved even since pads have come on. He had a nice pickup on a blitz in team drills, while also breaking off three long runs, including one touchdown. Conner also showed off his hands on multiple occasions, including bringing down a high screen pass and immediately planting his foot and getting yards.
Conner has had a good overall camp but Monday was truly a standout day for the Ole Miss product. The Jaguars have Ryquell Armstead going through most drills behind Travis Etienne, but Conner could have a chance to shine in the preseason and potentially command snaps with the starting offense as James Robinson recovers.
"Yeah, those guys have done a great job. Obviously, it’s not a good thing that James isn’t out here doing it. But it gives those guys another chance to get more live reps essentially, without being live," Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said about the third running back spot.
"In the game, they'll get a great opportunity to get carries, protect, catch the ball, all the situations you want to see. So those guys are dooing a great job. They're all competing. They all have a little different skill set that we're trying to figure out what fits best. Assuming James and Travis are full speed ready to roll? How does that work in what's the big picture of that room look like with those guys contributing to special teams, having a role as a certain type of back for us we go too."
Play of the day
There are several plays that deserve consideration, including Engram's touchdown near the end of practice. Still, I am going to go with Lawrence's touchdown to Kirk as the best play of the day for a few reasons.
For one, it felt and looked like a throw Lawrence would have to make in a game. He would have got hit by the defender in a game, but he still would have had time to get the pass off, just as he did with Josh Allen bearing down with a hand in his face during the touchdown pass.
Lawrence showed off touch and pinpoint accuracy on the throw, which was the type of throw you want to see him make more and more as he matures. The throw lifted just over Tre Herndon's head and hit Christian Kirk in stride in the corner of the end-zone, with Kirk catching and securing the ball and bringing it in for a great catch. It was a big-time throw and catch in the red-zone, which is positive considering the defense's outing in the red-zone last week.
Other notes
- Jawaan Taylor, Devin Lloyd and Foley Fatukasi are still working to the side, with Darious Williams watching team drills in a red jersey, though he is at the sideline with the rest of the team.
- C.J. Beathard threw in 7-on-7 drills, the first time he has taken team reps this training camp.
- The offense and defense continue to get testy with each other as contact increases. There were multiple occasions where some players came close to shoving, including one occasion near the end of practice with Zay Jones and members of the defense after Travis Etienne was tackled to the ground near the sideline.
- Rudy Ford picked off Jake Luton in the end-zone during red-zone drills, a good play in coverage by the versatile defensive back who closed on the ball from his zone.
- Jay Tufele had some impressive rushes both during the blitz drill and 1-on-1. He has come on as contact has increased.
- Jaguars offensive line coach Phil Rauscher is the loudest coach on the field and provides some of the best commentaries you could ask for during team and line drills.
- Players taking reps at returner during warm-ups include Jamal Agnew, Laviska Shenault, Christian Kirk, Marvin Hall, Chris Claybrooks and Shabari Davis.
- Christian Kirk is another skill player who the Jaguars have already shown multiple ways to get the ball to. They seem much more equipped to use their skill players in a variety of ways compared to last year.
- Travis Etienne had a few impressive blitz pickups during early team drills.
- Lujuan Winningham made a nice grab for a touchdown in the near left corner of the end-zone, with Jake Luton delivering the pass with good touch.
- Gerrit Prince caught a touchdown from Kyle Sloter in the red-zone, a good grab from Prince who secured it as he fell to the ground.
- Brandon Scherff gets to the second- and third-level as well as any lineman I have seen in my four years covering the team. He blocked Tyson Campbell to help spring Etienne's big run into the end-zone.
- Chad Muma made several nice plays on Monday, including a handful of run stuffs in the middle and at the perimeter and a good play on a screen to Marvin Hall.
- Foyesade Oluokun and Josh Allen each snuffed out screens from the first-team offense, with Allen making an especially strong play in place, still getting the ball-carrier despite multiple moves in space.
- Zay Jones has been a safe target for Trevor Lawrence. He made a nice catch during team drills to convert a first down with Andrew Wingard in coverage.
August 02, 2022 at 01:01AM
https://www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/duval-insider-plus/jaguars-training-camp-day-7-walker-little-trevor-lawrence
Jaguars Training Camp, Day 7: Observations As Little Arrives, Lawrence Shines and More - Sports Illustrated
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