Training camp is the proving ground, and for the Jaguars, it’s also the place where a few long-shot names can force their way onto the 53-man roster.
This year’s camp setup in Jacksonville feels different than it did a season ago. The roster is in less flux, which means there’s a lot less room for newcomers to sneak through. That makes the battles behind the established names even more important, especially for players trying to turn a strong offseason into something bigger.
One of the clearest camp-to-roster candidates is cornerback Jabbar Muhammad. The Jaguars already have a loaded top group with Travis Hunter, Jarrian Jones, Montaric Brown, and Jourdan Lewis, but Hunter and Lewis not taking part in the offseason program because of injuries opened the door for others. Muhammad walked through it.
By all accounts, he was one of the biggest standouts of the offseason program. Coaches believed he had a pass breakup in every single offseason practice, which is the kind of ball production that gets attention fast. Head coach Liam Coen even called him the team’s mbelievedost improved player compared to a year ago, when he arrived as an undrafted free agent.
What helps Muhammad is that he isn’t just working one spot. The Jaguars like cornerbacks who can move around, and he’s shown he can make plays both outside and in the slot.
If he adds dependable special teams work to that, he has a real path to sticking as a developmental piece. The hurdle is clear: he’ll have to hold off Christian Braswell and the other young backups competing for those jobs.
Still, if his offseason momentum carries into camp, he’ll be hard to ignore.
Running back J'Mari Taylor is another name worth tracking. The Jaguars already have Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez Jr., and LeQuint Allen locked into the top three spots, so the math is working against anyone trying to crash that group. But Taylor has given the team reasons to keep looking at him.
He stood out throughout the offseason with legit speed and burst, and his tape looked good enough that it would not have been surprising to hear his name called in the draft. Instead, he went undrafted, which could end up helping Jacksonville if it wants to keep building the backfield in the post-Travis Etienne era.
Taylor’s case is built on more than just quickness. He brings special teams experience and past production on passing downs, the kind of profile that can keep a back around even when the depth chart looks crowded.
With the Jaguars unlikely to play their top backs much in the preseason, Taylor should get plenty of chances to make his case before cut day. If he doesn’t land on the roster, the practice squad is an obvious fallback - unless the team thinks another club would grab him on waivers first.
The linebacker group has its own set of names trying to break through. Jack Kiser, a fourth-round pick, looks safe as a backup to Foyesade Oluokun and a special teams contributor. That leaves Jalen McLeod and Branson Combs fighting for every inch.
Combs has already made a strong impression. After a productive offseason, he looks close to locking down a spot, and he may even end up pushing Ventrell Miller for a place on the starting depth chart if Devin Lloyd’s spot opens up. Just being in that conversation makes Combs one of the more intriguing sleepers in camp.
McLeod is a different kind of bet. He flashed real pass-rush traits in college, and those traits showed up again during the offseason program. He missed his entire rookie season because of injuries, so he still has work to do, but the expectation is that once the pads come on, he could start climbing from bubble player to someone who belongs on the pass-rush depth chart.
That kind of upside matters for a Jaguars team that has long been willing to dig deep to find linebacker help. If Combs and McLeod both make the roster, Jacksonville would have a pair of young, affordable linebackers to build around. With Miller in a contract season and Dennis Gardeck older, both players have a chance to make this camp matter now and down the road.
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