The Jaguars’ final official practice before their trip to New Orleans on Tuesday was a mixed bag, but the biggest takeaway was impossible to miss: Anthony Campanile’s defense owned the day.
Jacksonville’s front seven spent most of the session hammering the offense, especially in the run game. With injuries thinning out the offensive line across the board, the Jaguars never found much traction on the ground, and the defense’s energy showed up from start to finish.
“I thought the defense came out with more energy and better mindset and mentality. I thought the offensive skill players, obviously, and some of the pass game stuff was good. But they kind of took the fight to us, to the offense in the run game today,” Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said following practice.
Coen singled out Albert Regis and Arik Armstead, but Tuesday felt more like a collective takeover than a day built around one or two names. The defensive line and linebackers consistently swarmed to the ball and shut down any hint of momentum. It looked a lot like the run defense Campanile built last season, and that has carried into camp.
On the other side of the ball, one of the clearest bright spots was Jabbar Muhammad. The second-year cornerback has climbed fast since his strong spring, and he has kept that momentum rolling through camp. Right now, he looks like the Jaguars’ clear No. 5 corner, which would put him in line for an active jersey on game days.
“I’d say Jabbar, you go back to the spring, he's probably one of the most improved players on the team. He's doing a heck of a job playing obviously corner and nickel. I’m excited,” Coen said after practice.
Muhammad still has to carry that play into New Orleans and into Saturday’s game, but he keeps making the kind of reps that matter. He was active again on Tuesday, including a near-interception of Nick Mullens, and he’s building real momentum as the week goes on.
Jakobi Meyers also turned in another dependable day. In a receiver room loaded with attention - Parker Washington has been one of camp’s biggest stories, Brian Thomas Jr. is a first-round talent, and Travis Hunter brings his own spotlight - Meyers can get overlooked. But he keeps showing why he matters.
He started camp a little slowly, then hit his stride once the pads came on, and he has stayed there. On Tuesday, he hauled in a diving third-down catch from Trevor Lawrence, one of the best offensive plays of the day. The Jaguars already know what he brought to the passing game a year ago, and this was another reminder that his steady hands still stand out even in a crowded room.
The other big theme was the injury pileup. Jacksonville opened camp relatively healthy, but the list has grown over the last week.
Cole Van Lanen, Walker Little and Zach Durfee did not practice, while Emmanuel Pregnong and Ezra Cleveland were limited to individual drills. Jourdan Lewis was undressed and watching from the side.
“I think that you’ve got a couple of guys, I mean, we’ve got an ankle. We’ve got a couple-not a ton of injuries that would maybe pop up from hitting," Coen said.
"More so the general soft tissue hammy stuff, right, and groins and things like that that you guys see popping up all over the NFL right now. Thankfully we haven't had a ton of big, big ones, right?
Knock on wood. It's just these are the times of the year it happens, it occurs."
Those absences mattered most in the trenches. Patrick Mekari, Walker Little and Ezra Cleveland all sat out, leaving the first-team offensive line as Anton Harrison, Jonah Monheim, Robert Hainsey, Wyatt Milum and Chuma Edoga.
That group looked a lot like the second unit, and the second unit looked a lot like the third. The result was a day where Jacksonville simply couldn’t create much of anything in team periods.
There were a few self-inflicted issues too, including a dropped snap from Trevor Lawrence in team drills and multiple defensive pass interference calls on the secondary. The Jaguars have had cleaner practices than this one, and with a month still to go before the games count, they’ll need to tighten up the details and stay out of their own way.
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