Jaguars 53-Man Roster: 5 Observations on OL, Elijah Cooks and More

What are our takes on the Jaguars' first 53-man roster of the year?

With the Jacksonville Jaguars' 53-man roster now being set following the passing of the first round of waiver wire claims, it is time to examine the group that will take the field for the Jaguars in Week 1. 

In fewer than two weeks, the Jaguars will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in their season opener. In large part, they will do it with the players they kept on the roster on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

But when looking at that group, what stands out the most? Which decisions were the most surprising, and which make the most sense? We break it down below.

Gerrit Prince is the most surprising cut 

The only really "surprising" release was tight end Gerrit Prince. It seemed all offseason that the Jaguars were going to keep four tight ends, but it seems like Prince got a tough deal due to injuries along the offensive line. Prince didn't have a standout preseason after a great start to camp, but he made sense as a No. 4 tight end who could play special teams and continue to develop. 

Instead, though, the Jaguars are going light at tight end with just Evan Engram, Luke Farrell, and Brenton Strange. This is bold considering just how active the tight ends are expected to be in the offense, with the Jaguars' depth now at near-zero. With Prince likely to sign with another team's practice squad, this would technically make Josh Pederson the Jaguars' No. 4 tight end. They will need to upgrade that spot, even if it is just on the practice squad. 

Keeping 7 WRs is a bold move, but Elijah Cooks earned it 

Another year, another undrafted free agent success story. Outside of the 2021 season, the Jaguars have had a long tradition of finding undrafted gems who have the ability to fight their way to a roster spot. That continued this year with undrafted wide receiver Elijah Cooks, who became the seventh receiver on the roster alongside Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, Jamal Agnew, Tim Jones, and Parker Washington.

In a way, one could make an argument that Elijah Cooks took the spot on the depth chart that was going to go to Gerrit Prince. Both are defacto big receivers, which could help explain why the Jaguars went heavy at receiver and light at tight end. Keeping seven wide receivers is uncommon, but this ensures the Jaguars can keep Cooks on their roster during his rookie season without allowing other teams a chance to claim him. Then next year, the Jaguars can see if Cooks made the second-year leap that we saw Gregory Junior make. 

Jaguars made the obvious move at QB

There seemed to be a lot of Jaguars fans who were mildly surprised by the Jaguars' decision to waive Nathan Rourke and keep C.J. Beathard as the backup quarterback. But, as Wednesday showed us, this was always the obvious move. Rourke wasn't going to be a valuable commodity on the waiver wire due to the nature of most teams having their quarterback rooms set in stone after the initial cuts, so the Jaguars never had to put him on the active roster to save him from being claimed. 

Rourke is the perfect practice squad quarterback for the Jaguars. He is young, knows the system, had a great preseason, and is someone the coaches and front office now know well. But he was never going to be a better backup quarterback than Beathard. Kudos to the Jaguars for managing the room accordingly. 

2023 rookie class is represented well

Considering the Jaguars have a roster that is returning most of its core pieces from last year's playoff run, it wouldn't have been a shock if there were limited spots for rookies. That wasn't the case, though, with the Jaguars' rookie class doing well for itself and taking 10 of the 53 roster spots when you include Elijah Cooks. 

Out of the Jaguars' 13 draft picks, nine made the initial roster. It would have been 10, too, if fourth-round rookie linebacker Ventrell Miller didn't go on injured reserve. The only rookies who didn't make the team were the Jaguars' final two picks -- Raymond Vohasek and Derek Parish -- and sixth-round defensive back Erick Hallett II, who fell victim to a numbers game with 11 defensive backs making the roster. Overall, it was a good preseason for the Jaguars' draft class.

Jaguars are thin at OT until Cam Robinson returns

The Jaguars got some bad news at offensive tackle on cut day, with veteran tackle Josh Wells being placed on season-ending injured reserve. The Jaguars knew they were going to be light at tackle until Cam Robinson's four-game suspension is over, but it always seemed like Wells was their short-term solution. Now, that is probably the weakest group on the roster. 

It is a short-term issue, of course, because once Robinson returns the Jaguars will have Walker Little as a swing tackle option. But for now, the Jaguars will have to rely on either Blake Hance or Cole Van Lanen as swing options in the event they see injuries at left tackle or right tackle, which is far from ideal considering the goals the Jaguars have in 2023.