Jaguars Training Camp, Day 5: Observations as Calvin Ridley Steals the Show
The Jacksonville Jaguars are just 24 hours away from their biggest and most physical practice yet: the first day of pads.
But before the shoulder pads come on in force on Tuesday, the Jaguars had one more practice without them on Monday. And it was during training camp No. 5 at Miller Electric Center that the Jaguars arguably had their most spirited practice thus far, highlighted by receiver vs. defensive back one-on-ones.
So, what did we see during Monday's practice? We break it down below.
Calvin Ridley puts on a show
With one-on-one periods came the battle of the summer in Jacksonville: Calvin Ridley vs. Tyson Campbell. The two talented veterans didn't disappoint, either, with Monday's reps ending in a 1-1 draw. The crowd went crazy each time the duo lined up against each other, with the entire practice field knowing that they were watching something special.
On one rep, Campbell was able to keep phase with Ridley on his entire downfield route, eventually blanketing him in the end zone to force him to end his route early on an incompletion. This drew a round of applause and some daps from Ridley to Campbell. Otherwise, though, it was Ridley's drill.
On Ridley's other rep vs. Campbell, he did a fantastic job of selling a vertical route before cutting outside on a deep out. Trevor Lawrence hit him on time to complete the pass despite good coverage from Campbell. Maybe Ridley's best rep of the day came against the Jaguars' other starting corner, though, with Ridley catching one deep touchdown over the head of Darious Williams to establish himself as the receiver to beat.
Parker Washington flashes
It has been a solid training camp thus far for sixth-round pick Parker Washington. The No. 185 selection in April's draft, Washington was held out of most team drills during the offseason program as he worked his way back from injury. He was given the green light for training camp, however, and the Penn State product has done the most with his opportunities, including some impressive reps on Monday.
The most impressive rep came against starting slot cornerback Tre Herndon during one-on-ones. Washington gave Herndon fits throughout the route and likely would have drawn a pass-interference flag during an actual game before breaking away from him at the end of the route to haul in a completion. Washington had so much space he was able to palm the ball with one hand on his catch.
Defense gets their hands on more passes
The defense nabbed their first two interceptions of training camp on Saturday. On Monday, they managed to haul in two more, creating some positive momentum for the unit as they enter the first day of pads on Tuesday. Fourth-year safety Daniel Thomas recorded the first pick after undercutting a Trevor Lawrence pass meant for Tim Jones, a heady play by the veteran defensive back to continue a strong camp.
The second interception came from undrafted rookie cornerback Kaleb Hayes, who made an instinctual play to come up with an interception after a Nathan Rourke pass went through Kevin Austin Jr.'s hands. It was one of the first passes all camp that Austin didn't haul in, and Hayes made him pay for it.
Intensity and tempo saw a big jolt the day before pads come on
There is no question that Monday was the Jaguars practice to be at if you are just looking at their five practices without pads. The overall intensity, energy and tempo were greater on Monday than they were on any day last week, a sign that meaningful football is that much closer. You can gauge a lot of early training camp practices. The type of shape players are in, who is playing where, ball skills, etc., but there is always a limit.
On Monday, those limits began to slowly all away as the Jaguars inched closer to a full padded practice. Tuesday will be a big change for the Jaguars in relation to the rest of training camp, but today's practice was the best one thus far in terms of the pure intensity and action of practice.
“Not a lot, when the pads come on there’s more physicality, you see that. Schematically, nothing changes, right? It’s just a matter of now offensive linemen having something to hang onto," Doug Pederson said last week when comparing pads and padless practices.
"It’s just kind of getting used to having the pads on again, really. Evaluation wise, it really doesn’t change a whole lot because we’re looking at everybody, what they know, what they don’t know, and taking it from there.”
Play of the Day
The top play of the day came during one-on-ones, courtesy of Zay Jones. After decisively beating veteran cornerback Chris Claybrooks to get open deep, Jones then adjusted to a slightly underthrown football from Trevor Lawrence to leap over Claybrooks and grab the ball above his head for the touchdown ... all while drawing a flag.
Other notes
- Gregory Junior continued what has overall been a strong training camp, with a good showing in one-on-ones and then having a would-be sack on Trevor Lawrence during team drills.
- Andrew Wingard saw a good amount of time with the starting defense on Monday as Andre Cisco worked off to the side. It was likely more related to them being precautionary with Cisco, but it shows that Wingard is firmly entrenched as the No. 3 safety.
- D'Ernest Johnson just keeps making plays. He had the offensive sideline go crazy over two long runs on Monday. He will be one to watch when the pads come on.
- Yasir Abdullah's burst off the edge is staggering. His first step is one of the best on the team already.
- Foley Fatukasi, Tevaughn Campbell, and Travon Walker would have all had tackles for loss.
- Chris Claybrooks had a tough day in one-on-ones. Outside of the Zay Jones score, he also gave up completions to Seth Williams and Kevin Austin Jr.
