The first padded practice of Jaguars camp brought a different edge to Day 5, and the most memorable moments came from all over the field.
Brian Thomas Jr. ended up stealing the show. Jacksonville has had a different receiver pop each day so far - Travis Hunter on Day 4, Jakobi Meyers on Day 3 with the red-zone work, and Parker Washington on Day 2 - but Monday belonged to Thomas.
He delivered the day’s biggest play, and maybe the biggest play of camp, by beating Montaric Brown deep on a throw from Trevor Lawrence. It was the first time Lawrence and Thomas have really connected on a true deep ball in team drills this camp, and after coming close on Sunday, they finally cashed in Monday morning.
Thomas has cleaned up the drops through camp and the offseason, and now the splash plays are starting to show up with it.
Parker Washington still made his presence felt, too, with a strong sideline catch in team drills. But the more frustrating part of his day came on two downfield chances that slipped away.
Washington got behind the defense twice, and both times Lawrence didn’t put the ball where it needed to be. Two plays that looked like touchdowns instead became incompletions.
The rain and wet ball mattered, but those were still the kind of chances Jacksonville needed to finish.
There was also a new layer to the Chris Rodriguez Jr. story. After spending the first three days limited to individual work, he took his first team-drill carries on Sunday and then got even more involved Monday, including live-contact running work to open team periods.
He didn’t have more carries than Bhayshul Tuten, but he delivered the most eye-catching run of the day when he met Caleb Ransaw in the hole and ran through him for extra yards. That was exactly the kind of work the Jaguars have been waiting to see from Rodriguez, and with the pads finally on, it showed up.
Up front, Anton Harrison looked like the best player in the one-on-one line work. He spent his third straight day at left tackle and won rep after rep, handling power from Josh Hines-Allen and then dominating a pair of snaps against Danny Striggow.
It might have been the best he has ever looked in that drill. Whether Harrison ends up at left tackle when the real games begin, or even as the backup plan for Cole Van Lanen, is still unresolved.
But Monday made him look like a legitimate option.
And then there was the catch that really set the tone for the day. Thomas’ grab over Brown wasn’t just a deep ball in the rain.
It came down the sideline, and he hauled it in one-handed. It had the same feel as the one-handed sideline catch he made in the home win against the Indianapolis Colts in 2025, and it may have been the play of camp so far.
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Jones was benched early in the season, but he kept himself ready and waited for another chance to show he belonged in a bigger defensive role. His work has fit neatly with a Jacksonville mindset built on not giving an inch, and the way he has shown up throughout preseason suggests the Jaguars may have a harder time keeping him in a smaller lane much longer. [Read more 🡒]