7 Biggest Winners From Jaguars OTA No. 1: Bhayshul Tuten Makes Waves at RB

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Day 1 of OTAs is in the books, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have taken their next offseason step forward.

The Jaguars had an eventful first OTA practice, with big plays made by starters on both sides of the ball. But who were the biggest winners from the few hours of work put in at the Miller Electric Center?

liam coe — Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen laughs during an interview during rookie minicamp at the Miller Electric Center, Saturday, May 9, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. Today was the second of a three day camp concluding Sunday. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Deep Ball

Is the deep ball back in Jacksonville? It is always too early to make any proclamations this time of year, but it certainly appears the Jaguars have placed a big emphasis on improving their deep passing game to this point in the offseason. The Jaguars pushed the ball downfield a good bit on Tuesday, with Trevor Lawrence throwing a deep touchdown to Brian Thomas Jr. on the longest pass of the day.

It is still early in the offseason and, as expected, the results will be mixed. Lawrence targeted Thomas on a deep pass earlier in the practice that was intercepted by Eric Murray, but the Jaguars and Lawrence were not afraid to target Thomas deep again later in the practice.

jacksonville jaguar — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7), left, tosses the ball to quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Friday Aug. 15, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lawrence and Liam Coen each said after practice that the chemistry between Thomas and Lawrence has been a focus, and that was easy to see on Tuesday.

“I think it's the chemistry between he and BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] first and foremost. Working on that chemistry. It was nice to see a great start to that today live and in person," Coen said, "I think those two have worked at it this spring thus far throughout phase one, phase two and then showed up in a nice way today."

Bhayshul Tuten

Liam Coen himself noted that the Jaguars' running back room will look even more impressive when they have pads on. Considering the way Bhayshul Tuten broke tackles as a rookie, the physical running style of Chris Rodriguez Jr., and the downright Tasmanian devil playstyle of fan-favorite LeQuint Allen, it is easy to see why Coen believes so.

Rodriguez was not on the field for the Jaguars on Tuesday, which did give Tuten and Allen a chance to get some key reps without him in the mix. Tuten looked explosive throughout the practice, and Coen gave him props after the day by noting that he has liked how he has run the ball during the offseason program and what he looks like now compared to OTAs in 2025.

Parker Washington

There is a strong argument to make that Parker Washington was the singular most impressive player on the practice field for the Jaguars on Tuesday. The correct context of the practice needs to be held in mind, of course, since no pads were on and this more or less eliminated all linemen from being able to display their full array of traits. Still, Washington caught everything thrown his way on Tuesday -- and there was a lot thrown his way.

Speaking after practice on Tuesday, Coen was asked about what a next step could look like for Washington. He broke down his impressive 2025 season, and then did nothing to indicate he does not have big plans for Washington in his offense in 2026.

"I think activating him a little bit, continuing to work on the ball in hand stuff that he can do at a high level because of the way he's built and wired, the screen game, continuing to work on those things, the jet sweeps, getting him the ball in some of those ways, and then the complete route tree of slot, outside, being able to do all those things. I think that's a step he can take," Coen said.

Ventrell Miller

No projected starter on the Jaguars depth chart has more to prove before Week 1 than Ventrell Miller. He has big shoes to fill after Devin Lloyd left for the Carolina Panthers in free agency, and the Jaguars' lack of offseason moves at the linebacker position have proven the Jaguars are pushing their chips in on Miller in his fourth season.

Miller certainly got off to a good start at Tuesday's OTAs, coming up with some impressive plays in pass protection and looking more than comfortable in the middle of Campanile's defense. Miller was arguably the defensive standout of the day, and this is exactly what the Jaguars are likely hoping to see at this point in the offseason.

Preston Hodge

Undrafted rookie cornerback Preston Hodge was able to make one of the biggest plays of Tuesday's practice with an interception during 7-on-7 drills. The cornerback room in general had a good day as Montaric Brown, Jabbar Muhammad, and other members of the secondary produced pass breakups. But Hodge is the one who was able to make a play on the ball and get on the offseason takeaway board alongside safety Eric Murray.

Caleb Ransaw

Tuesday was a big day for second-year safety Caleb Ransaw. While it is not as if Ransaw made big play after big play on Tuesday, he did participate in his first practice since last year's training camp. Ransaw is 100% cleared from last year's foot injury and was a full participant in Tuesday's practice. Not limited, not off to the side, just another full-time piece of the defensive puzzle for defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

The biggest thing Ransaw needs right now is reps. That is what he lost out on when his training camp injury ended his rookie season, and that is what he was able to get on Tuesday. Give him time to get comfortable and develop, and Ransaw very well could turn into an important piece of the Jaguars' defense.

Danny Striggow

The Jaguars did not have defensive end Josh Hines-Allen on the field on Tuesday, which gave their young defensive ends a chance to see an uptick in reps. Among the defensive ends who clearly benefitted from that increase in reps was second-year defensive end Danny Striggow, who is in the running to be the Jaguars' No. 3 defensive end behind Hines-Allen and Travon Walker.

This is not to say Striggow was dominating pass-rush reps on every given passing down. There were no pads on, so it is much less about what Striggow did with increased reps and more so the fact that he had a chance to get them. Striggow is my prediction to be the Jaguars' No. 3 defensive end.

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