Jaguars Training Camp, Day 4: Observations on Young Defenders Making Plays and More
The Jacksonville Jaguars have wrapped up their first "week" of training camp, going through practice No. 4 on Saturday before their first off day tomorrow.
What did we see in one of the Jaguars' final padless practices and what does it all mean moving forward? We break it down below.
Antonio Johnson, Chad Muma make plays
The first two interceptions of training camp took place on Saturday, with a pair of young defenders coming up with the big plays. The defense has gotten its hands on a few passes during the first week of camp, but it wasn't until this afternoon that they picked off one of the Jaguars' three quarterbacks. It happened twice on Saturday, with Antonio Johnson picking off C.J. Beathard and Chad Muma intercepting Trevor Lawrence as he tried to fit a pass over him to Calvin Ridley.
It would be unfair to judge all training camp interceptions the same. Training camp is practice after all, and you see players and the team in general attempt to accomplish things that they otherwise wouldn't. Still, it is encouraging for the Jaguars' fortunes to see some of their recent draft picks on defense make standout plays in practice, especially Muma and Johnson.
Gerrit Prince, tight ends continue strong camp
The tight end room has been one of the highlights of the first week of camp. On Friday, second-year tight end Gerrit Prince caught two touchdowns as Brenton Strange and Evan Engram added touchdowns of their own. On Saturday, the room continued its strong camp as Prince caught his third touchdown of camp on a pass from C.J. Beathard. The tight ends were also targeted on five consecutive plays during one team drills, with all of four top tight ends (Prince, Strange, Engram, and Luke Farrell) seeing at least one target.
"Good room. You know, I like, obviously, you know, Evan kind of picked up where he left off, and you know, Luke is another one. That young player who this is gonna be, this will be big for him, you know, an opportunity, great opportunity for him," Jaguars head coach Pederson said before practice.
"Brenton Strange is learning and improving every day. There's gonna be, obviously, you know, there's gonna be a setback here and there. It's just part of the process, right? And then we got some young guys, Gerrit Prince, who's been here. Again, another second-year player who was on the practice squad a year ago, you know, has done some good things."
The young cornerback on the rise
The Jaguars have plenty of options to trot out at cornerback behind their starting trio of Tyson Campbell, Darious Williams and Tre Herndon. From their duo of second-year cornerbacks in Gregory Junior and Montaric Brown to Tevaugn Campbell to rookies Christian Braswell and Erick Hallett II, the Jaguars have a seemingly endless number of combinations to try in the secondary over camp.
The cornerback who has stood out so far? It seems like it would be Junior, the second-year sixth-year pick from Ouachita Baptist. Juinor has looked smooth in coverage throughout the first week and seemingly has inside/outside potential. Pederson said on Saturday that Junior has "caught the attention" so far and he also drew praise from defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell on Friday. His arrow appears to be pointing up.
Calvin Ridley draws deserved praise
Ask anyone who has watched Calvin Ridley over the first week of training camp can attest to the simple fact that the veteran receiver looks like a special talent. Anything and everything has been said about his route-running, explosiveness and overall ability, and it has all been true. As a result, Ridley earned some deserved and rare praise from Pederson when he was asked who has stood out to him thus far.
"Just the way he practices, you know, and it's just, it's a different speed," Pederson said. "It's a different level and it's encouraging to me as a coach, because it feeds to the rest of the guys, particularly the young guys. You know, he's one that's really stood out there."
Pederson had a coy smile when he was first asked the question. Typically, Pederson doesn't single guys out, especially this early on in camp. But Ridley (and Tyson Campbell on defense) have been good enough to elicit such a response from Pederson. Ridley has been the biggest story of camp and it has been deserved in every respect.
Play of the day
The best play during Saturday's practice came via Trevor Lawrence and second-year wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr., who made arguably the best play he has made in a practice in his two camps with the Jaguars. Lawrence uncorked a beautiful deep pass to a streaking Austin downfield, with Austin catching it in between the zones of two defensive backs and then shielding the ball for an impressive touchdown. It was a big-time throw and catch from both parties.
Other notes
Source: Sports Illustrated
