Jaguars Training Camp Notebook, Day 8: Minshew Gets First Reps, Smoot Impresses and More
The intensity at TIAA Bank Field dipped a bit on Friday as the Jacksonville Jaguars took off the shoulder pads for Day 8 of training camp. But even without the team going full speed, pedal to the metal, there was still an abundance of worthwhile takeaways from the day of practice.
With two days to go before the Jaguars hit the stadium for a day of scrimmaging, the Jaguars put in yet another day of work in the Florida heat under Urban Meyer. And while Friday wasn't as physical as the previous two practices, it was still one in which the Jaguars clearly made strides.
From the players the Jaguars missed to the ones who impressed, here is everything we saw at practice on Friday.
Pads come off
The Jaguars were missing a number of players from the active roster on Friday (more on that later), including over five receivers. As a likely direct result, the Jaguars toned down practice considerably from their earlier practices in the week, especially Wednesday. Two days after 'Winners and Losers Day', the Jaguars took off the shoulder pads on Friday for a more low-key practice setting.
The Jaguars had an off day on Thursday after two padded practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Considering the Jaguars have an official scrimmage at the stadium Sunday, it isn't surprising to see Urban Meyer take his foot off the gas pedal a bit. Wednesday was one of the more intense practices we have seen take place in Jacksonville in the last three years. Couple this with the team missing several starters -- including two at receiver -- two days before a scrimmage, and it makes sense why Friday was more of a relaxed day in comparison to the past few practices.
Gardner Minshew gets first-team reps
While Trevor Lawrence has dominated first-team reps in recent days, this wasn't the case for Friday's practice. The Jaguars and Meyer broke from their recent routines, instead opting to let Gardner Minshew take the first-team reps in each team drill. While Lawrence threw behind an offensive line of Will Richardson, Tyler Shatley and Walker Little, Minshew threw behind the starting five and caught more reps with Laviska Shenault.
“Yeah all I ask for is a chance and they said they’ve given me that. And they have with the reps that I’ve been given," Minshew said after practice. "So, that’s all I can ask for. At that point, it’s up to me.”
With the Jaguars set to begin their preseason in eight days against the Cleveland Browns, Meyer and his offensive staff are going to have to make a decision on a starting quarterback sooner than later. There appears there could be a chance that Minshew gets the first snap against the Browns, though Saturday's practice and Sunday's scrimmage should tell us even more.
Defense wins the end of practice
Trevor Lawrence ultimately had a better day of practice than Minshew. Minshew was safer with the ball and took fewer risks, but Lawrence got into a rhythm toward the second-half of the practice and continued to hit strike after strike. That was, of course, until the defense and the offense faced off at the very end of practice in a situational drill. With the situation giving the offense a little over a minute to score from near midfield, the No. 1 offense and defense clashed, along with the No. 2 offense -- led by Lawrence -- and the backup defense.
Minshew checked the ball down a few times to move the chains and cross midfield during his attempt to lead the offense on a scoring drive, but eventually it came time for a shot at the end zone. With six seconds left and about 35 yards out from the end zone, Minshew dropped back and launched a deep pass to Laquon Treadwell. Minshew overthrew the pass, though, and it was nearly intercepted by a diving Tre Herndon.
Lawrence and the second-team offense then moved the ball with ease at first, with Lawrence hitting Tevin Jones and Pharoh Cooper for big gains across the middle. Lawrence was more willing to push the ball downfield as opposed to taking short gains, though this came back to bite him when him and Cooper failed to connect on a shot for the end zone. This led to Lawrence having one final play to score, which saw the defense send a massive blitz to disrupt him before he could get an accurate throw off. Lawrence threw his pass while fading away from the blitz, with the ball ending up intercepted by Jarrod Wilson.
Plethora of contributors held out
The list of Jaguars who didn't practice on Friday is fairly expansive. It led to the Jaguars being more or less wiped out at the receiver position, while several other spots on the offense and defense were missing key starters or backups.
- Marvin Jones missed practice for personal reasons.
- DJ Chark missed with a minor finger injury.
- Phillip Dorsett was held out of practice.
- Tim Jones was held out of practice.
- Josh Hammond was limited
- Josh Imatorbhebhe was held out of practice.
- Andrew Norwell was held out of practice.
- Tim Tebow missed practice with a non-COVID-19 illness.
- CJ Henderson missed practice as he was still on the COVID-19 acclimation program.
The Jaguars will get healthier as the season draws near, but as of now they have a few key players on each side of the ball -- but mainly the offense -- missing time. Players like Jones, Tebow and Chark should be back soon, but the Jaguars are already seeing their number of bumps and bruises creep up as they continue camp.
Walker Little moves around
Walker Little got his first bit of positional movement on Friday. From the first day of the offseason all the way through Little's dominant practice on Wednesday, the No. 45 overall pick was taking reps only at left tackle. No guard. No right tackle. Only the left side and only as the backup behind Cam Robinson, with Will Richardson instead taking the reps at right tackle with the No. 2 offense. The Jaguars changed this on Friday, however.
Little took all of his reps on Friday on the right side, both in individual and team drills. He even took one-on-one reps against the defensive line as a right tackle, facing off against Josh Allen, Adam Gotsis, and Lerente McCray. Little won his rep against McCray but Allen and Gotsis each won reps over the former Stanford left tackle. With Richardson moving to left tackle for the day, the Jaguars got to see exactly what Little could do on the right side on Friday. Jawaan Taylor has had a strong camp, but Little will likely be the team's swing tackle and will need to know how to take over at the right side at any moment.
Dawuane Smoot continues his strong camp
One of the standouts from camp to this point has been the play of Dawuane Smoot, who is looking more and more like the Jaguars' top option on the edge across from Josh Allen. Smoot once again split reps with Taylor in one-on-ones as he rushed off the edge, but he came back later and made plays time after time again in team drills. Smoot seems primed for a big role in Joe Cullen's scheme, and days like Friday show why.
In the first team period of the day, Minshew dropped back to pass and attempted a short checkdown to his left. Smoot, who dropped into coverage, read Minshew's eyes perfectly and brought the pass in for an interception and a potential pick-six in a real game. Smoot then later brought consistent pressure off the edge in later team periods, frequently pressuring Minshew off the left side of the defensive line and picking up one tackle for loss against Little.
“I tell you he’s getting better — he is a guy like Jihad Ward both those guys can go outside and inside and give us a lot of flexibility and in the one on ones and in teamwork, he’s getting better," Jaguars defensive coordinator Joe Cullen said Friday.
Smoot has had a strong camp up to this point, flashing with at least one big play or impressive win against a tackle each day. Once a question mark with the new scheme, it is looking more and more like Smoot will play a big role under Cullen's tutelage.
Other offensive line/defensive line standouts from Friday
While Smoot had an incredibly impressive day, there were other offensive and defensive linemen who stood out for their performances Friday -- even without pads on. From starters to backups, the Jaguars saw each of their trenches get better as a result of Friday's practice.
- K'Lavon Chaisson won a pair of reps against Richardson, who was lined up at left tackle. He showed an impressive get-off and swipe move to get clear of Richardson and close in for the sack.
- DaVon Hamilton continues to dominate in training camp. He has been the offense's toughest assignment in one-on-ones all camp and that continued on Friday when he gave Brandon Linder all he could handle with a nasty bullrush.
- Derwin Gray is impressive. Daniel Ross has had some nice wins in camp this year, but Gray was able to blank him on a pair of reps, including one where he was able to overpower him and lift him off his feet and then into the ground.
- Ben Bartch had some penalty issues in team drills, but he and Jihad Ward had some incredibly fun back-and-forths on Friday. Bartch would win one rep, flashing great power and footwork to match Ward's speed. Ward would then win the next, using counter moves to get the young lineman off-balance. Bartch's win earned him praise from both Ward and George Warhop, though, which is a step taken forward.
- Jawaan Taylor continues his strong camp. From the first day of camp to Friday, he has been the team's most consistent offensive tackle. He did well against Smoot and McCray in one-on-ones and then held his own against Allen in team drills.
Running game comes alive
While the pads weren't on, the Jaguars' offensive line still showed out in a big way in team drills when the focus went to the running game. The Jaguars' defensive line has looked much improved against the run this fall, with Malcom Brown, Roy Robertson-Harris and DaVon Hamilton all making plays in the trenches this week. But the tide began to shift on Friday, which is somewhat surprising considering the Jaguars were missing their starting left guard.
James Robinson, Carlos Hyde and Dare Ogunbowale all broke off long runs during Friday's practice in team periods. Robinson and Hyde's explosive carries came up the left side, with Ben Bartch, Cam Robinson and Brandon Linder clearing holes for the two. As for Ogunbowale, he picked up steam on a carry while with the second-team and showed a terrific jump cut in the hole to pick up a big gain. The running game is clearly going to be a big part of the Jaguars' offense, and it isn't surprising to see both Robinson and Hyde still get their fair share of touches with the starting offense, even with Etienne impressing throughout camp. This is going to be an offense that runs the ball often; on Friday, it was one that finally ran it well.
Darrell Bevell takes an active role
The Jaguars' offensive coordinator didn't use Friday's padless practice as an excuse to stop leaving his handprints all over the offense. During early periods in the practice, Bevell took time to set himself aside to work one-on-one with Travis Etienne on his routes and releases before taking in the totality of the offensive line as he observed them go through combo block drills. Bevell was particularly hands-on with Etienne, working with the No. 25 overall pick for about 10 minutes as he showed him a multitude of different routes.
The veteran coordinator was brought to Jacksonville to bring a versatile and a tried and true scheme to the offense, as well as help get Trevor Lawrence up to speed. So far, reviews on Bevell have been overwhelmingly positive, and busy periods like the start of Friday's practice show his attention to detail.
Play of the day
The play of the day that drew the loudest cheers from the crowd came courtesy of Gardner Minshew and Jamal Agnew. Wile Agnew hasn't made a ton of eye-popping plays since returning to the practice field from the NFI list, but that changed on Friday when he brought in a big catch that was worthy of a Sportscenter Top 10 mention had it come on a Sunday.
With Agnew streaking down the right sideline in between the coverages of cornerback Tre Herndon and safety Rudy Ford, Minshew floated a pass deep down the field with impressive accuracy. The ball landed perfectly in Agnew's path, with the team's smallest receiver then climbing the ladder to snag the ball out of the air between Herndon and Ford for an incredibly acrobatic catch.
