The Jaguars head into the 2026 season with a special teams group that doesn’t need much fixing, and that’s a big reason why coordinator Heath Farwell remains one of the most important assistants on the staff.
Jacksonville’s core pieces are locked in. Cam Little handles kicking, Logan Cooke punts, and Ross Matiscik keeps everything humming as the long snapper. Parker Washington gives the unit real juice as a punt returner, and the numbers back it up: the Jaguars finished fifth in the NFL in punt returns in 2025 at 13.7 yards per attempt.
There’s still one area that could use some tightening. Kickoff coverage ranked 24th in the league last season at 27.4 yards per return, while punt coverage was much stronger, finishing fourth at 6.6 yards.
But the bigger story is what Jacksonville hasn’t allowed. The Jaguars have gone 48 games without giving up a kickoff return touchdown and 149 games without surrendering a punt return touchdown.
Cooke hasn’t had a punt blocked in his eight-year NFL career since 2021, a span of 76 games. The last blocked field-goal attempt came 28 games ago, and the last blocked extra point was 61 games ago.
That kind of stability is exactly why Liam Coen didn’t feel the need to overhaul the operation when he arrived. Farwell was the lone coach at his level retained from Doug Pederson’s staff when Coen came aboard in January of 2025.
“It’s huge to have that continuity, chemistry,” Coen said early in training camp about Farwell and the special teams. “It’s not like I’m coaching any of those guys on how to kick or what to do from that standpoint.
They’re very diligent and detailed in the way that they go about their business and approach. And I think Heath and Luke [Thompson, Assistant Special Teams Coach] and those guys do a phenomenal job.”
Farwell’s current challenge is less about the big three specialists and more about the supporting cast. Rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron is being developed as a punt return option in case Coen eventually wants Washington focused more heavily on offense. Farwell also has to replace Andrew Wingard, the “four-core” special teams presence who is now with Arizona.
That’s where the younger players come in. Rayuan Lane III and Caleb Ransaw have been working as punt team gunners, and Farwell likes what he sees.
“Dewey was a great player for us, a leader and a team captain,” Farwell said of Wingard. “But the guys we have, Caleb Ransaw, has been a fantastic gunner.
I anticipate him being a starting gunner, right there with Rayuan. Between those two guys, I think we have two of the better gunners in the National Football League.”
Coen said Farwell’s energy helps shape the whole unit, and that the players don’t treat special teams like a holding pattern before bigger roles on offense or defense. He also pointed to the specialists themselves as tone-setters.
“The players trust [Farwell and Thompson], not just schematically, but they trust that they have their best interests in mind,” Coen said. “They love to play for those guys. And I think that the leadership of obviously Logan and Ross and Cam continuing to come into his own, I think the players, the other players on the special teams units just have so much confidence because those three set the tone.”
The biggest decision still hanging over the group is Washington’s workload. If he keeps playing a major role for Trevor Lawrence on offense, how long can the Jaguars keep asking him to return punts too?
Washington is willing to do both, but rookie Josh Cameron looks like the next man up if Jacksonville decides to ease the load. Cameron was an All-American punt returner at Baylor in 2025.
Farwell doesn’t sound eager to make that call unless he has to.
“That’s something we talked about in the spring with Parker and he expressed that he wants to return as well," Farwell said. "He’s a fantastic receiver, but he’s an elite returner, and he’s a game changer.
He’s feared across the league. He’s the best returner in the National Football League as far as I’m concerned.”
There’s a similar question with Bhayshul Tuten on kickoff returns, though that depends on how much offense he handles as the season goes on with Chris Rodriguez and LeQuint Allen Jr. in the mix.
If there’s one place the Jaguars don’t have to worry much, though, it’s the specialist trio at the heart of the unit. Little, Cooke and Matiscik give Jacksonville a reliable foundation, and the rest of the group is built to keep the operation clean.
Projected starting specialists for Jaguars’ special teams: Cam Little, Logan Cooke, Ross Matiscik, Parker Washington, LeQuint Allen Jr., Bhayshul Tuten, Rayuan Lane III, Caleb Ransaw and Josh Cameron.
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