When Jaguars training camp opens, not every veteran can afford a slow start. For three offensive players in particular, the first few practices could go a long way toward shaping where they stand once the dust settles.
Hunter Long is one of the names under the most pressure. The tight end room got tighter after Jacksonville added Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol in the draft, and that leaves Long and Quintin Morris fighting for what looks like one roster spot.
Long does bring receiving ability to the table, but Morris has the edge as a blocker and on special teams, which may carry more weight with the coaching staff. If Long wants to push his way onto the roster, he’ll need to prove he can help in those other areas too.
Chuma Edoga is in a similar spot. He was on the team last season, and his ability to play both guard and tackle gives him value, but the depth chart has gotten crowded.
Jacksonville has spent top 100 picks on the offensive line in each of the last two drafts, taking Wyatt Milum and Emmanuel Pregnon. With Walker Little expected to be the first tackle off the bench when everyone is healthy, and Milum also able to slide outside, Edoga could find himself buried near the bottom of the pecking order.
Then there’s Patrick Mekari, who is still the favorite to open as the starting right guard, but not without some heat behind him. John Shipley of Jaguars on SI pointed to a right guard battle between Mekari and Wyatt Milum as one of four camp competitions worth watching.
Mekari has the experience edge, but the numbers show why he needs a cleaner summer. He finished 63rd out of 83 eligible guards in run-blocking grade, allowed 34 pressures, which was the 12th-most among guards, and gave up two sacks while ranking tied for 58th in pass-blocking efficiency.
For all three players, camp isn’t just about getting back into football shape. It’s about making a case before the roster starts to narrow.
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Jaguars Rookie CJ Williams Is Forcing His Way Into The Conversation
CJ Williams has already done enough this spring to get noticed in a Jaguars receiver room that is still taking shape. The sixth-round rookie arrived in Jacksonville with a winding college path behind him, moving from USC to Wisconsin and then Stanford, where his final season hinted at the kind of steady production and reliability that can translate to the next level. Since then, he has carried that momentum into offseason work, earning praise from the coaching staff for the way he has handled the transition.
What stands out most is not just the rsum, but how quickly Williams has started to look like he belongs in the mix. He has shown the kind of work ethic and playmaking ability that can make a late-round pick harder to ignore, especially when a team is sorting out roles and searching for dependable receivers. For Jacksonville, the question now is whether the early buzz around Williams is simply a spring storyline or the start of something more meaningful once the real competition begins. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Camp Opens With One Big Readiness Question Hanging Over It
The Jaguars are set to open training camp July 29, with rookies due in a few days earlier and veterans following on July 28, and there will be plenty of chances for fans to get a first look once practices get underway. Jacksonville also has a slate of open sessions on the calendar, including public access around joint work with the Panthers and Buccaneers, as the team starts turning offseason planning into actual on-field evaluation.
A lot of the early attention will go beyond the usual camp buzz, because the Jaguars have already checked off some major business by locking up core pieces like Travon Walker and Brenton Strange. Even so, the first week still carries a familiar camp edge for Jacksonville, with injury updates and roster spots in play as the team tries to sort out who is ready to go when the pads come on. [Read more 🡒]