With the Jacksonville Jaguars making it to Day 6 of training camp, the team had its first fully padded practice on Sunday. Needless to say, that made it an eventful day for the Jags, especially when it came to 1-on-1 drills.
The circumstances made it a day where the offensive and defensive linemen were more of a focal point, and several players the Jags paid well this offseason like Brandon Scherff, Cam Robinson, and Travon Walker stood out, as did veteran Josh Allen. Then when it came to team drills, the big story was the slow start the offense got off to before closing practice on a high note in the last 11-on-11 showdown.
With all of that in mind, here are the top takeaways from Sunday’s practice:
Travon Walker and Josh Allen stand out again after also flashing on Day 5
Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Travon Walker (44) participates in an offseason running back outside linebacker Josh Allen (41) training activity Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Both Walker and Allen flashed yesterday in shells on Day 5, but on Day 6, they didn’t let up.
Simply put, it seems like Allen has been one of the most consistent players for the Jags since camp started. On Sunday, he took advantage of the ramped-up intensity. News4Jax’s Jamal St. Cyr said the veteran made “quick work of the lineman he went against” in 1-on-1 drills. However, St. Cyr added that Allen was stopped on one rep (which came against Walker Little) but looked solid otherwise.
Here are some of the many tweets that were released through practice about the fourth-year player.
Walker, who has long been ready for the pads to go on, didn’t want to be outshined by Allen it seems. He impressed in 1-on-1s and also made a play in team drills where he beat a double team and swatted down one of Lawrence’s passes.
Obviously, it’s not going to be a perfect transition for Walker as he’s learning a lot of new things at the NFL level, but his first day in pads seemed promising. Of course, he’s going to have to develop more moves on the pro level, but in the early stages of padded practices, he’s showing that he can utilize the tools that he has well.
Brandon Scherff shows why he’s getting paid the big bucks
Jacksonville Jaguars guard Brandon Scherff (68) and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Coy Cronk (64) walk on the field during day 4 of Jaguars Training Camp Thursday, July 28, 2022 at the Knight Sports Complex at Episcopal School of Jacksonville. [Florida Times-Union]
The Jags made a huge addition to their offensive line this spring when they signed former All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff. Of course, for a player of his caliber, it wasn’t cheap, as the Jags awarded him a three-year deal worth $49.5 million with $30 million guaranteed.
However, on Sunday, he showed onlookers exactly why he’s one of the highest-paid players on the team. First Coast News’ Andrew Badillo said Scherff (and Cam Robinson) won all his reps “easily” in 1-on-1s. Jaguars.com reporter Ashlyn Sullivan and ESPN’s Mike DiRocco also praised the veteran for being a standout on Sunday.
Scherff also spoke to the media after practice and said he was excited to finally come out in full pads to get a feel for what offensive line coach Phil Rauscher has been trying to simulate.
“It’s nice to put shoulder pads on and actually just be able to make it feel like football,” Scherff said. “With shells you kind of go full speed but you still have to take care of each other, but with pads you can get those real fits that [Offensive Line Coach] Phil [Rauscher] always talks about at meetings, so it’s nice to be able to get that fit get the real handles and shoulder pads and stuff, and I think we got a pretty good group, and we’re excited to just keep stacking them one day at a time.”
With the Jags just getting started in terms of padded practices, Scherff and the offensive line will have plenty of time heading forward to get things down pat and take a big step after finishing the season ranked 24th by Pro Football Focus.
Travis Etienne maintaining his consistency
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) walks off the bus during day 4 of Jaguars Training Camp Thursday, July 28, 2022 at the Knight Sports Complex at Episcopal School of Jacksonville. [Florida Times-Union]
No name has come up more consistently at Jags camp than Travis Etienne’s. Even dating back to organized team activities, his speed and explosiveness have often been mentioned, and it’s translated to training camp.
On Sunday, St. Cyr praised Etienne’s speed, which has made it difficult for defenders to get a good angle on him. Simply put, that has helped him to make a highlight play throughout almost every practice, and it’s clear he’s going to be a huge part of the Jags’ offense. That’s huge because the receivers haven’t been consistent in camp, and if that continues, Etienne may have to receive an even bigger role than expected.
Etienne’s play-making ability is certainly encouraging as he’s coming off a Lisfranc injury that sidelined him for the full regular season. Heading forward, that will certainly make him one of the players that fans want to see in the preseason (at least for a series) as the Jags’ 2021 offense lacks explosiveness.
Both the offense and defense have their moments against each other
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) runs through drills at Monday morning’s training camp session. The Jacksonville Jaguars held their first day of training camp Monday, July 25, 2022 at the Episcopal High School Knight Campus practice fields on Atlantic Blvd.
Jki 072522 Jaguarsmondaytrainingcamp 02 [Florida Times-Union]
As previously mentioned, the Jags’ offense struggled a bit in team drills, and part of the reason for that was because several of the receivers atop the depth chart had drops. That includes notables Christian Kirk, Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault Jr., and Evan Engram.
However, at the end of practice, Lawrence, and the receivers started to cook again and he was able to put together multiple completions to Kirk and company.
News4Jax’s “Trevor Tracker” had Lawrence down with a completion rate of 68.4% (13-of-19) in 7-on-7s and a 45.5% completion rate (5-of-11) with a potential interception that some felt hit the ground in 11-on-11s. Clearly, this is a sign that the passing game needs to work on being a little more consistent. In their defense, Lawrence and Engram stayed after practice to get some extra work in, but time will tell if they can bounce back heading forward.
Jawaan Taylor’s injury revealed
Aug 1, 2019; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (75) enters the field for training camp at Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
After missing three practices in a row, Jawaan Taylor’s injury was finally revealed on Sunday. According to coach Doug Pederson, it’s a hamstring injury.
Before practice, Pederson said that the medical staff would be “ramping” things up with both Taylor and defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi (calf), but would look to keep both out of contact situations.
“Yeah, again, kind of day to day with both of those guys,” Pederson said. “I think we’re going to ramp them up a little bit more today but still keep them out of the contact stuff and again, just want to make sure that they’re 100 percent. With the injuries they have, they can be nagging and lingering if we don’t protect them now, but we’re going to continue to ramp them up.”
Taylor’s injury is a notable one because he’s currently competing with Little for the starting right tackle role. However, Taylor’s absence has allowed Little to get plenty of reps with the starters, and if he is to unseat Taylor, he needs to take advantage of the time he is missing.
Little struggled in 1-on-1s Sunday, although he won a rep against Allen. That said, it will be important for him to bounce back on Day 7, especially if Taylor continues to miss practices.
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Story originally appeared on Jaguars Wire