Everything I Saw From Day 1 of Jaguars Training Camp: Bhayshul Tuten Takes Lead

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are officially back.

The Jaguars kicked off the first day of 2026 training camp on Wednesday, opening the doors to the Miller Electric Center to the fan base and their 90-man roster as they begin their early preparation for Week 1. And as usual, it was an eventful practice day in Duval.

So, what all did we see from the Jaguars on Day 1? We break it all down below.

Bhayshul Tuten Takes the Lead

One of the top battles set for training camp is the one between Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. and, for now, it looks like Tuten is taking the lead. Rodriguez injured his foot on the first day of the offseason program and had surgery following it, though he has been cleared fully for camp. With that said, the Jaguars are not rushing him back, and he did not work in team drills.

That meant Tuten got the bulk of the first-team reps with the offense, just like he did during the offseason program. In fact, Tuten was frankly the most impressive offensive player of the entire day considering the sputtering moments the unit had. While other players had some down moments, Tuten produced several big runs and showed the same exciting traits that made him look like an ascending player this spring.

Travis Hunter is Back, and He Is Busy

Travis Hunter is back! We thought there was a chance the Jaguars would slowly bring Hunter back to speed after his recovery from last year's knee injury, but there was nothing slow about Hunter and the day that he had on Wednesday. Even with the context that the Jaguars had no pads on, this was some of the most work we have seen Hunter get in a singular Jaguars practice.

Hunter, who donned a teal offensive jersey to start the day, warmed up with wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett before heading over to the defensive backs for individual drills. When the Jaguars then got into team drills, Hunter started got the third rep of the day with the starting offense. Once the starting offense was done, Hunter then took his place at cornerback with the starting defense, and this was how his day would continue.

In short, Hunter got starting reps on both sides of the ball, looks as athletic as ever, and does not show any signs of slowing down. He had a great rep in coverage against Josh Cameron on the sideline, though his best chance for a reception on offense ended in an incompletion.

Sloppy Day for the Offense

trevor lawrenc — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) passes during a drill as the Jaguars held their final Organized Team Activity on Monday, June 15, 2026 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

You can normally tell how the Jaguars' offense performed based on how Liam Coen addresses the unit in his post-practice comments. On Wednesday, it was clear that Coen thought the offense was a bit sloppy, though it did not seem like any concern level went beyond acknowleding the fact that it was their first day back on the field together in several weeks. But from missed throws from Trevor Lawrence to a number of drops, the offense just did not look as crisp as it did at the end of the offseason.

Lawrence himself noted that he did not have his best day, but this was more of a practice outlier compared to the other performances he has had this offseason. The biggest negative might have been the fact that the Jaguars had several drops, including two very unusual ones from Jakobi Meyers and LeQuint Allen.

The offense will have better days as camp ramps up and they continue to get their chemistry back. But for today, count this as a win for the defense.

4 Young Players Take Focus

There were four different first- or second-year Jaguars who stood out to me on Wednesday, whether because of their performances or because of their roles. There is a strong chance each of them becomes important at some time or another, too, which makes the first impressions that much more important.

Second-year cornerback Jabbar Muhammad continues to simply make plays. The former undrafted free agent was one of the biggest stories of the offseason program, and he has now gotten off to a quick start during training camp with a two-pass breakup day on the first day of camp, including a breakup of the aforementioned Hunter target downfield. He just is not going away.

Wyatt Milum got a ton of run at right guard for the Jaguars, and the battle between him and Patrick Mekari is officially on. Mekari was seemingly getting ramped up in terms of reps, which meant Wednesday saw a lot of chances for Milum to set himself apart. From a size and explosiveness perspective, her certainly did that.

Rookie tight ends Tanner Koziol and Nate Boerkircher each got a lot of reps alongside Trevor Lawrence. While neither may have made a standout play, it was interesting to see how quickly the Jaguars threw both right into the mix of things on offense. As Liam Coen noted after practice, they are trying to learn these guys and what they can do, and Wednesday was a big step in that direction.

Play of the Day

CJ Williams earned several 'Play of the Day' notables during the offseason program, and the Jaguars' impressive rookie receiver has picked up right where he left off. Williams was once again impressive in his first day back on the practice field since June, making the day's most impressive play with a sliding catch in team drills that seemed like a sure pass breakup from Ventrell Miller. It was strong coverage from Miller, but Williams simply made the improbable grab look relatively easy. He has a habit of doing that, and that should serve him well moving forward.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after practice that Williams already has a good feel for the offense and does not need much coaching in terms of his assignments. Becoming a receiver the staff and quarterbacks already trust is big for the rookie receiver that we predicted would surprise everyone in camp.

Other Notes

Jack Kiser went down with injury during the first set of team drills. Liam Coen said he would get imaging tonight to see the full extent of the injury, but it is a tough first day break for a second-year player fighting for snaps.

Some guys who I saw get kick returner reps who interest me: Ameer Abdullah, Josh Cameron, and still Bhayshul Tuten.

They were going against the backup offensive line, but you saw what you wanted to from Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Arik Armstead. Each recorded a would-be sack during team drills, with Armstead dominating Emmanuel Pregnon on his rep for a welcome to the NFL moment.

If it wasn't for Williams' big catch, the play of the day would have gone to veteran Jaguars safety Eric Murray after a steller interception of Trevor Lawrence during team drills. Lawrence tried hitting Brian Thomas Jr. deep but Murray made a diving catch near the sideline to secure the first takeaway of camp.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. is cleared for football activities and took part in positional drills. The Jaguars are slowly ramping him back up and, as Liam Coen said, it is a long training camp.

The Jaguars' first day of pads will be on Monday. The Jaguars will have three more practices before then as they acclimate back to their practice schedule. Expect a lot of passing word until the Jaguars get back to playing tackle football.

Bryan Thomas Jr. had a nice sack at the end of practice, showing some really good dip around the edge. He has been flashing since the offseason program.

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