The Jaguars’ rookie class keeps showing up in pieces, and with Week 6 around the corner, the picture is starting to sharpen. Jacksonville is 4-1, fresh off another win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and a few first-year players are clearly helping shape that start - while others are still waiting for their turn.
At the top of the rookie pecking order, Josh Cameron keeps making the most of every chance. He’s not getting a huge workload, but he’s turning limited snaps into real production.
Cameron has drawn a target on 30.8% of his routes, which is a staggering rate, and he ranks No. 1 on the Jaguars’ roster in yards per route on a small sample. He’s averaging just under eight routes per game, and that number needs to climb.
Emmanuel Pregnon had what the source described as his least impressive game of the season in Week 5, but he still wasn’t the line’s biggest problem against Philadelphia. He handled himself well at times, even if the penalties are starting to pile up.
Pregnon has five penalties through five games, which puts him behind only two other offensive linemen leaguewide in that category. He was also limited in Wednesday’s practice with an injury, though the Jaguars will need him against the Texans.
Tanner Koziol’s role has quietly grown. He still hasn’t been targeted, but he has logged 16 snaps over the last two games after playing just three snaps in the first three contests. That matters, especially since those last two games were tight ones rather than blowouts like his Week 3 debut.
Nate Boerkircher’s status is worth watching after he showed up on Wednesday’s injury report. He’s been trending up as a receiver, with better work after the catch and a strong grab in traffic last week. He’s also been a plus in the run game, even if there’s room for more consistency there.
Bryan Thomas Jr. remains part of the mix, even after an early exit against the Eagles. He was ejected on the first play of the game after a scuffle on the kickoff return, but the expectation is that he still would have gotten defensive snaps. With BJ Green out injured since Week 1, Thomas should keep working in as a special teams contributor and backup edge option.
On the other end of the spectrum, some rookies are stuck in holding patterns. Wesley Williams has been a healthy scratch again and again, with undrafted rookie Bryan Thomas Jr. active over him for the last four games since BJ Green’s injury. Unless Jacksonville gets hit with multiple injuries at edge, Williams doesn’t appear close to meaningful playing time.
CJ Williams has also been sidelined, sitting out for the fourth straight week. The Jaguars have mostly stuck with four full-time receivers, helped by the fact that they’ve often carried three or four tight ends and can use Travis Hunter at receiver as well. Short of injuries or a move in the receiver room, his path to being active looks narrow.
Albert Regis was a healthy scratch for the first time in Week 5, though that may have had as much to do with roster juggling as anything else. Injuries forced Jacksonville to work through special teams and defensive back combinations, and Regis may simply have been the odd man out. Even so, the Jaguars seem pleased with what they’ve gotten from their top four veteran defensive tackles ahead of him.
Jalen Huskey finally dressed for the first time this season against the Eagles, but he never got onto the field for a defensive snap. For now, it looks like the Jaguars are more likely to lean on Rayuan Lane and Kaevon Merriweather for safety depth. Huskey’s rookie year has the feel of a redshirt season at this point.
In Other News...
Shedeur Sanders Just Reignited A Jaguars Trade Rumor Fans Know Well
Shedeur Sanders latest move has put his future back in the conversation at a time when the NFL is watching Cleveland closely. After reports said the Browns were not interested in trading him and were instead focused on his development, Sanders signed with Adie von Gontard, the CEO of Young Money APAA Sports, for representation.
For Jaguars fans, it is the kind of quarterback rumor that tends to linger because of the positions importance and the way Jacksonville has been linked to every available name whenever uncertainty pops up around the league. With the trade deadline set for November 10, Sanders new representation has only added fuel to the chatter, even if the Browns have given no public indication they are planning to move him. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Trade Debate Starts With Josh Allens Biggest Need
The Bills 4-1 start has not changed the reality that their passing game still has a receiver problem, with injuries and uneven production leaving Josh Allen without the kind of reliable outside threat teams fear in January. In that kind of environment, Brian Thomas Jr. naturally comes into the conversation, because the Jaguars wideout has the sort of upside that can alter how defenses are forced to play Buffalo.
From the Jaguars perspective, the interest only underscores how quickly a young receiver can become part of a bigger trade-market debate when he has already shown he can be viewed as a premium target. The article frames the fit as one worth watching before the 2026 trade deadline, but the real intrigue is what Buffalo would be willing to put on the table to try to solve its biggest need. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Have A Discipline Problem Liam Coen Knows He Must Fix
The Jaguars latest loss in Philadelphia put a familiar problem back in the spotlight: too many penalties, too many wasted snaps, and too many moments where the operation looked out of sync. Delay of game flags repeatedly nudged the offense off schedule and cut into scoring chances, leaving head coach Liam Coen with a clear cleanup job after a game in which the Jaguars were flagged 13 times.
Coen took responsibility for the issues and said the answer may start with simplifying the play calls so the team can get lined up and moving more efficiently. For a Jacksonville group that also drew 13 penalties against the Bengals, the concern is no longer just about isolated mistakes, but about whether discipline and clock management are becoming a pattern that can keep undercutting the offense before it ever gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]