5 Things We Learned From the Jaguars' Preseason Opener vs. the Saints: QB2 Issues?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars put together four quarters of winning preseason football on Saturday against the New Orleans Saints, and there were plenty of lessons to take away from it.

So, what were the most important things we learned from the Jaguars' 24-20 win over the Saints in the preseason opener? We break it all down below.

QB2 Could Be Problematic

To say that Nick Mullens had a tough outing would be putting it kindly. The context is of course needed that he was behind a second-team offensive line that, after the first drive, was closer to being a third-team offensive line. But Mullens seemed a tick slow on decisions and ended up eating a sack and throwing an interception in the red-zone when he had Josh Cameron open for a touchdown.

Was it the kind of performance that would make the Jaguars reevaluate the QB2 spot? I doubt it. Carter Bradley had similar struggles at times and does not come close to Mullens in terms of experience, which is important at the backup spot. I do not expact the Jaguars to start snooping around the backup quarterback market, even if performances like Saturday indicate that maybe they should think about it.

The OL Injury Bug is Real

chuma edog — Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Chuma Edoga (55) lies on the turf after a play against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars have had some serious offensive line injury issues over the last few weeks of camp, and it reared its ugly head again on Saturday. Cole Van Lanen is on the Active/PUP list, Patrick Mekari has been held out of team drills throughout camp, Walker Little has missed the last week of practice, and then on Saturday the Jaguars had top backup lineman Chuma Edoga leave with an injury.

The offensive line injuries have become an issue for the offense over the course of training camp, making it difficult at times to evaluate the scope of the rest of the offense. With that in mind, it does not seem like the Jaguars have many Week 1 concerns.

“Unfortunately, we have that bug at the moment. We just have to get through it. We have two weeks of good work ahead that we need to take a step in the right direction," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after the game. "We’re going to go pads a few times this week. We have the two joint practices against Tampa. This is the time in training camp where these things sometimes pop up. Unfortunately, it is at a position which is hard to function when you have depth issues and injuries. We’ll get through it and be alright.”

The TE Emphasis

Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Hunter Long (84) and quarterback Nick Mullens (14) run out the tunnel against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars did not get their tight ends involved in the passing game very often, which has tracked with how training camp has gone with the tight ends not named Brenton Strange. The tight end group combined for one catch on four targets, though it was a one-yard touchdown catch from Hunter Long. Most of the Jaguars' passing game flowed through their receivers, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a tight end emphasis.

The Jaguars ran the ball at a higher clip than they passed it, and a lot of those runs came through their 12 personnel packages. The Jaguars seemed to have an uptick of multiple tight end sets as a way to move the ball on the ground, which could directly translate to increased tight end usage for the same reason once the regular-season rolls around.

The Jaguars' DL Depth is Encouraging

regis jaguar — Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Albert Regis (98) sacks New Orleans Saints quarterback Zach Wilson (4) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars' defensive depth did a nice job of establishing some positive momentum on Saturday, with multiple Jaguars backups impressing against the Saints' own backups on offense. The Jaguars collected four sacks and six quarterback hits over the course of the contest, with Bryan Thomas Jr., Ruke Orhorhoro, Danny Striggow, Yasir Abdullah, B.J. Green, Wesley Williams, and Albert Regis all impacting the quarterback at some point.

The defensive depth behind the Jaguars' starting offensive line was one of the team's biggest questions entering training camp. While the question did not get answered over the course of four quarters against the Saints' backups, it was a better outcome for the Jaguars than if they had failed to get pressure against the Saints' No. 2 offensive line.

The LB Battle Rages On

Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Ventrell Miller (51) and linebacker Yasir Abdullah (56) and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad (37) run out the tunnel against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars had both Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs playing deep into the contest, and it is easy to see why. The fact that the Jaguars have some linebacker depth issues and may need an answer at the backup middle linebacker spot with Jack Kiser injured is likely a factor, but the Jaguars are also seeing Miller and Combs continie to battle for a starting spot halfway through camp.

The reps the two split on Saturday made it clear that the Jaguars still see this as a tight battle, and that battle will likely spill into the rest of training camp and the preseason. and then potentially into Week 1. That is at least where things seem to stand right now.

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