Jaguars Training Camp, Day 5: Observations on Etienne's and Walker's Standout Day
The Jacksonville Jaguars finished their last day without full pads on Saturday, with five days of training camp officially in the books.
Practice No. 5 turned out to be one of the most eventful days of camp yet, with the Jaguars inching closer and closer to having their schemes completely installed and practiced. Next up, we will see the Jaguars in full pads, giving us a true evaluation of the offensive and defensive lines.
So, what all did we see at Saturday's practice at Episcopal School of Jacksonville Knight Campus? We break it down below.
Travis Etienne continues to shine
Arguably the star of Jaguars training camp so far has been second-year running back Travis Etienne. Etienne has seemingly picked up at least one explosive gain in each practice and this continued on Saturday and, at this point, he looks like the most dangerous potential weapon the Jaguars have on offense.
Concerns over the 2021 No. 25 overall pick keeping his trademark speed and explosiveness after his Lisfranc injury appear to be able to mostly be put to rest, with Trevor Lawrence even remarking on Saturday that Etienne appears to be in better physical shape than he even was during their last year together at Clemson. Considering Etienne had 16 touchdowns and over 1,500 yards from scrimmage that season, that is quite the high mark for him to hit.
Etienne's big play on Saturday came on a run to the left side, with Etienne quickly getting to the third level of the defense after putting his foot in the ground and exploding past the line of scrimmage. If he gets a sliver of space, he has been able to use it to explode into the teeth of the defense. He has been as advertised so far, at least on the ground.
Etienne is also a player the Jaguars have moved around a fair bit. He has gotten the ball in a variety of ways and there have even been instances of two-running back sets, with Etienne lining up out of the backfield. This suggests that even with James Robinson set to return in mid-August, there will be plenty of ways to get Etienne the football.
Travon Walker has his first big day as Jaguars get more physical
If Etienne had the big day for the offense, then Travon Walker had the big day for the defense. The No. 1 overall pick has a skill set that is built around his length and power, making it hard to judge his progress during the early days of camps. The contact and physicality increased on Saturday, though, as the Jaguars transitioned to practicing in shells. With the added contact came more flashes from Walker.
Walker managed to find his way into the backfield on multiple occasions, whether against the run or pass. He wasn't going up against the first-team offensive line, but he quickly disposed of the Jaguars' second-team offensive line and tight ends whenever given the chance.
As a pass-rusher, he showed bend and explosion, notching a few pressures and showing comfort at linebacker. As a run-stopper, Walker was able to reset the line of scrimmage by at least two-to-three yards a pop thanks to his length and otherwordly powerful punch, including one rep where his punch jolted a tight end into giving up at least four yards of ground.
Walker has done nothing but take first-team reps at outside linebacker for the Jaguars thus far; there has been no forcing him to win the job in camp or asking him to play multiple roles. Instead, the Jaguars have placed Walker in one spot and made it clear he is going to play early and often. On Saturday, Walker demonstrated why that should remain the case.
Evan Engram's uneven camp continues
Evan Engram has had a rough start to his first camp with the Jaguars. On one hand, he has gotten a ton of run with the first-team and has flashed serious talent after the catch when the Jaguars get him in space, both as a receiver and runner. Yes, you read that right; as a runner. Engram has gotten carries at times in camp, a reflection of the speed and explosiveness he brings to the field.
The issue has been Engram's consistency as a pass-catcher, which has crept up in three of five practices so far. The first serious offense was on Thursday when he failed to catch a Lawrence pass in the red zone, leading to a deflection off Shaquille Quarterman's pads that was caught by Shaquill Griffin for an interception. The next serious offense came on Saturday, and this one was arguably worse, even if it didn't end in an interception.
With the Jaguars running a two-minute drill against the defense, Lawrence found an open Engram crossing from the middle of the field to the left part of the end zone. Engram badly beat his man, getting at least three yards of separation and setting up an easy throw for Lawrence to lead him into the end zone.
Lawrence made the throw, hitting Engram in his hands at the two-yard line for a walk-in touchdown. Engram bobbled the pass though, eventually having it fall to the ground as a drop and a missed opportunity. The Jaguars would go on to fail to score on the next play, leaving them empty-handed for the period thanks to Engram's drop.
Engram clearly took the drop serious as he hit the jugs machine after practice to catch footballs and tennis balls. Still, his inconsistency has been his Achilles heel in the past and it has crept up already in camp before pads have even come on, which is a concerning trend.
Logan Cooke shows off
Logan Cooke was spectacular during punting drills on Saturday. While special team periods are rarely the most exciting practice periods to watch, Cooke was a popcorn-grabbing type talent on Saturday, booming several punts to the two-yard line and not allowing Jamal Agnew or Laviska Shenault to return them.
Cooke has established himself as one of the AFC's best punters and as one of the team's most consistent performers, and this was again the case on Saturday. Considering the mess the Jaguars have had at kicker in camp so far, it was a good sign to see that at least one key part of their special teams is thriving.
We have written about how the Jaguars' kicking issues could lead to a more aggressive Doug Pederson on fourth-downs, but it is also worth noting what the presence of Cooke could do. Cooke has shown he can flip fields on a whim and give the Jaguars the field positioning advantage, and Saturday showed more of the same.
Play of the day
Two plays stood out during Saturday's practice. The first one was Trevor Lawrence hitting Marvin Jones in stride on a nine-route on the left sideline. Jones did a good job to separate from the corner as Lawrence was releasing the ball and Lawrence hit him perfectly in stride as he shot downfield. It was a huge gain and arguably Lawrence's best throw of camp.
But the best play of the day has to go to rookie cornerback Benjie Franklin. The undrafted free agent has come close to picking off a few passes this week and he finally made it happen on Saturday, undercutting a Jake Luton pass for a pick-six in team drills. Franklin did a great job of reading Luton's eyes and peeling off his route to bring in the pass and then looked explosive with the ball in his hands. He is a dark horse to watch.
Other notes
- Ben Bartch got a handful of reps with the first-team offense at left guard. Tyler Shatley got the majority of reps by far, but this was the first time we have seen Bartch with the 1s.
- Speaking of Bartch, he was also seen taking snaps with quarterbacks during the opening periods of practice. He has practiced at center in the past and it makes sense for the Jaguars to see what he can do there after K.C. McDermott's snap issues earlier this week.
- Christian Kirk made two impressive grabs over the middle, with one particular catch coming in traffic. He has shined on the possession-type concepts and opportunities he has been given.
- Arden Key and Dawuane Smoot each took reps at outside linebacker/defensive end during second-team defense.
- Montaric Brown has seemingly shot up the depth chart after his big week of practice. He took second-team reps at cornerback across from Chris Claybrooks, with Xavier Crawford again in the slot.
- Darious Williams and Devin Lloyd took part in warmups, though Lloyd didn't take part in individual or team drills. Williams took part in individual drills, but not team ones. Foley Fatukasi worked to the side, though he did warm up with stretches off to the side. Jared Hocker and Jawaan Taylor worked to the side and rode on the stationary bikes.
- Roy Robertson-Harris was in the backfield quite a few times during team drills, especially against the run.
- Dawuane Smoot had a nice tackle for loss on Snoop Conner where he got through the ride side of the offensive line.
- Tensions started getting hot today. Lujuan Winningham had some choice words for the first-team defense during running drills, while practice ended after a hard thump from Rayshawn Jenkins on Mekhi Sargent that drew a loud reaction.
- Jeff Cotton Jr. had one of the best catches of the day on a crossing pattern from Jake Luton.
- Laviska Shenault had an up-and-down day. He dropped one fastball from Lawrence in the middle of the field that should have been caught, but several plays later made an impressive catch on a similar play against Shabari Davis.
- Jamal Agnew hasn't gotten much work with the offense yet, but he looked like he was full-speed when he was returning punts. Laviska Shenault also got an extended look at punt returner.
