Good and Not So Good From Day 5 of Jaguars Training Camp: Ruke Orhorhoro Steps Up

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The most important practice yet for the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2026 training kick took place on Monday morning, with the Jaguars finally put on all of the pads for the first day of, well, real football.

There was a big emphasis on the running game, pass-rush one-on-ones, and plenty of key moments from the 90-minute practice. But what were the ups and downs of Day 5 of training camp? We take a look below with The Good and The Not So Good from Monday's practice below, starting with ....

The Good

Ruke Orhorhoro

The biggest standout trench player from the first day of pads might just be defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro. One of the few new faces in the defensive front, Orhorhoro was able to make several standout plays both in team drills and in one-on-ones with the offensive line. Orhorhoro recorded several near-sacks throughout the day, and he posed issues for each of the Jaguars' top guards during pass-rush drills.

"Yeah, I though Ruke did a nice job today. I thought he flashed more today than maybe in some of the previous days," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after practice. "I think he might have had two sacks in the mamba period on the first two plays of his rack. So, nice to see him flash. It's always a little bit more realistic when you get the pads on. I mean, the whole thing is, like, pass pro sucks with no pads on. It just does. So, it's nice to see him win when you're expecting the pass rush to maybe be a little less than it's been because of the pads being on. So, that was nice to see him flash."

Orhorhoro could be a key piece of the Jaguars' pass-rush rotation this season as they look to improve the interior pass-rush. He isn't the only piece they have who they believe will get after the quarterback from the inside, but Monday was certainly a big day for him and his hopes of putting a dent in the rotation.

Travon Walker

Travon Walker has had a strong training camp from Day 1, but I thought Monday was his best day yet. That is to be expected since Walker is always going to make big plays once the pads come on and his physical skill-set can really be deployed at its best, but he has really seemed to up his game in this year's camp.

Walker had a couple of stellar reps during pass-rush drills, proving to be a problem for Wyatt Milum and Chuma Edoga on a few reps. Walker looks even more explosive than usual, and the way the Jaguars have been able to deploy him from a variety of alignments so far has been an encouraging sign for his 2026 usage.

Nate Boerkircher

Nate Boerkircher has not had a ton of footballs thrown his way through the first few practices, but that is not what I was looking for on Monday. Instead I paid close attention to what Boerkircher did as a blocker as the Jaguars put a big emphasis on the running game early in practice, and I must say that he certainly looked as advertised.

Boerkircher got some solid movement on several running plays on Monday, and he does not seem out of place at all matching up with defensive ends in the run game. The usage in the passing game should come in time, but Jaguars head coach Liam Coen sure seems happy about where he is at right now.

“I've actually been pleased with him. Running routes that he doesn't get a target on, or he's not the primary route runner on. He's going to be more than fine in terms of what he's going to be able to do, whether it's targeting him or not, fitting in the progressions and being there," Coen said on Monday. "He'll be more than fine with us being able to go whether he's in an 11 or 12 and he's the Y, and he's opposite Brenton [TE Brenton Strange] or whatever it is, and you're able to be able to mix those things up. I'm more than pleased with what he's able to do from a route tree standpoint.”

The Starting WRs ... Again

bruab thima — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) tosses the ball during the third day of NFL Training Camp at the Miller Electric Center on Friday, July 31, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Simply put, the Jaguars' receivers have been outstanding in training camp. Everyone has had their moment to shine, and it felt like on Monday that moment belonged to Brian Thomas Jr. The third-year receiver has gotten a lot of recognition since the spring for the way he has handled himself entering a pivotal season, and this continued with the biggest play of the day in Monday's practice.

“The connection, man. The chemistry between not just he and Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence], but us, right? Me as a coach, as a play caller, the rest of the group, the entire team's confidence and swagger that brings. When you can throw the ball over somebody's head, it's a threat, man," Coen said after practice. "And it's something that we need. We need not just him to be able to do that but win on some of the other reps. He's run a lot of routes out here that maybe weren't getting targeted to him that he's won as well that I've been pleased with. So, I think it brings everybody up. It elevates everybody's game when BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] is playing at his highest level.”

Thomas was not the only receiver to stand out, though. Parker Washington also had a stellar day that would have included two likely touchdowns had the Jaguars been playing in normal weather conditions. This receiver room has been as good as everyone had hoped it would be.

Walker Little's Versatility

With the Jaguars getting a good look at Anton Harrison on the left side over the last few days, it is worth noting he is not the only Jaguars offensive lineman playing multiple spots. Walker Little was one of the Jaguars' more versatile linemen a season ago, and he has displayed that same ability thus far early in training camp.

For my money, Little had the best reps in one-on-ones at guard and he has also been able to show off his ability to play right tackle. Few players have been able to move around as much over the past six days than Little, and he had plenty of success in that department when it came to Monday's reps against the defensive line.

The Not So Good

Wyatt Milum's Day

It was tough sledding for Wyatt Milum on the first day of pads. Milum once again got the key reps at right guard as the Jaguars work Patrick Mekari back into the fold, but he had some real issues in terms of pass protection in one-on-ones. He went 0-for-4 in one-on-ones, with the biggest and clearest loss coming in a rep against Travon Walker.

Milum has the opportunity in front of him to take advantage of, but he does have to perform to really win a starting job on the offensive line. In the context of the first day of pads and full contact, though, it seemed like Milum was struggling a bit to get his feed under him. We will see if he has a better day on Tuesday when the Jaguars will likely ramp things up in terms of intensity.

Joey Aguilar

joey guila — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Joey Aguilar (17) throws the ball during the third day of NFL Training Camp at the Miller Electric Center on Friday, July 31, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars' battle for the No. 3 quarterback role between Carter Bradley and Joey Aguilar likely won't see much movement until the preseason games, largely because neither quarterback is getting all that many team reps early on in camp. Trevor Lawrence and Nick Mullens are commanding the vast majority of reps, which means the margin for error is narrow.

With that said, Aguilar had the day's only significant error when he fumbled a snap during team drills. It was the only turnover for the day for the offense, and it came on one of his few significant reps. If he is going to really push Bradley for the job, he will need to ensure the rookie mistakes like this one are few and far in between.

Handling the Conditions

The Jaguars had to practice in some less than ideal weather on Monday, with the rain picking up right as the Jaguars were getting into team drills. The Jaguars took the passing drills inside for a short period while the offensive and defensive lines stayed outside, and then the entire team finished the practice outside. The Jaguars had several passes seemingly come out of the quarterback's hand wrong or just flat out miss, and it sure felt like the weather made an impact.

“Yeah. I mean, it's like, its football, right? It has to be an edge for us here in Florida. And knowing that, shoot, last year, we had a delay and all that in Week 1, and we’ve got to get that working," Coen said.

"Now with some of the other—the one-on-one pass game, that would've been a waste of time to do out here. So, we wanted to make sure we got clean work in there. It was some good work. And these guys, they don't care, right? They want to just play, and they'd prefer to stay outside on the grass than go inside. You're concerned, you're just, hey, anchoring, guys anchoring and slipping out, whatever. But it's football. I mean, stuff happens.”

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