Jaguars Week 7 Rookie Report: Josh Allen and Jawaan Taylor Impress
The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) have gotten significant contributions from this year’s crop of draft picks – varying from starters to key role players. Let’s take a look at how the Jaguars stars of the future fared in Sunday’s 27-17 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
DE Josh Allen (Round 1, 7th overall)
On Saturday, I wrote that Josh Allen would have to be a major contributor in order for the Jaguars to stave up a spiraling Cincinnati team.
Allen took advantage of a porous Bengals offensive line, tallying 2 tackles and a sack on 39 defensive snaps, giving him 5 on the year. Sunday marked his third consecutive week recording a sack.
Next week, he’ll get to feast upon perhaps the NFL’s worst offensive line: the New York Jets.
RT Jawaan Taylor (Round 2, 35th overall)
Aside from two Geno Atkins sacks, the Jacksonville offensive line held up well against a fairly formidable Bengals front.
Taylor, in particular, appears to be getting more and more comfortable with each passing week, and his raw athleticism immediately jumps out when you watch the tape. A fluid mover out the outside, Taylor cleaned up minor issues, like footwork and hand placement, and stymied the Bengals' defensive ends.
TE Josh Oliver (Round 3, 69th overall)
At long last, Oliver made his NFL debut on Sunday. Sidelined with a hamstring injury since early August, the Jaguars opted not to throw Oliver in the deep end in his first professional game, limiting him to 25 snaps. He failed to receive a target, but the mere fact that he finished the game healthy is a sign that a bigger workload could conceivably be on the horizon in the coming weeks.
LB Quincy Williams (Round 3th, 98 overall)
While veteran Najee Goode made his second consecutive start in place of the seemingly floundering Williams, the latter relinquished his starting position against the Bengals after Goode left with a turf toe injury. Playing a relatively mistake-free 48 snaps, the rookie turned in his best performance of the young season.
Williams seemed to process things faster and be more cognizant of gap discipline after his Week 6 demotion.
RB Ryquell Armstead (Round 5, 140th overall)
Armstead was largely a non-factor on offense once again, carrying the ball just 3 times for 3 yards. The Temple product is the primary backup to Leonard Fournette, but with Fournette shouldering most of the load (29 carries on Sunday), there are only a handful of touches left for Armstead each week.
QB Gardner Minshew (Round 6, 178th overall)
It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Minshew rebounded from a tough outing against the New Orleans Saints, going 13 for 32 for 255 yards a touchdown.
Facing an undermanned Bengals secondary, Minshew found success attacking the perimeter, targeting Dede Westbrook nine times, Chris Conley eight times and D.J. Chark four times. The trio combined for 12 receptions for 239 yards. Good to see Minshew and the offense get into a rhythm against a depleted defense.
The interior of the offensive line struggled a bit in protection, surrendering two sacks to defensive tackle Geno Atkins, but Minshew largely did a decent job of climbing the pocket and working through his progressions.
DT Dontavious Russell (Round 7, 235th overall)
The burly defensive tackle was once again inactive for the contest, his fifth healthy scratch in as many weeks. Barring injuries along the defensive line, it’s hard to see Russell factoring into the team’s weekly game plan.
RB Devine Ozigbo (UDFA)
The undrafted rookie was inactive after dressing the past two weeks. The promising ballcarrier only played a handful of snaps on special teams and has yet to compile any stats.
The six-foot, 222-pound running back is third in the pecking order behind Fournette and Armstead, and there aren’t enough carries to go around – for the moment.
S Andrew Wingard (UDFA)
Though he didn’t play any snaps on defense this week – those snaps went to fellow safety Cody Davis -- the long-haired, heat-seeking missile was once again a terror in the third phase of the game.
LS Matthew Orzech (UDFA)
The 24-year-old undrafted free agent appeared in his seventh game as the Jaguars’ long snapper.
