Good, Not So Good From Jaguars' Preseason Win Over Saints: Wesley Williams' Day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --The first one is in the books.

The Jacksonville Jaguars took down the New Orleans Saints 24-20 in their preseason opener on Saturday, with the Jaguars outscoring the Saints 18-0 in the second-half to stage a comeback with their backups.

But what were ultimately the highs and the lows of the Jaguars' win over the Saints? We break it down below with The Good and The Not So Good.

The Good

Wesley Williams

If there was any Jaguars rookie draft pick who it felt like needed a big day in the preseason opener, it was fourth-rounder Wesley Williams. He has had a quiet training camp compared to some of the other young defensive ends on the roster, but he just seems like a gamer. He turned it up several notches against the Saints and was, for my money, one of the Jaguars' most consistently disruptive players up front.

Williams was the biggest reason Yasir Abdullah was able to record a strip-sack of Spencer Rattler during the first-half, and he had a few other encouraging rushes that showed the required burst to consistently win on the edge. If people were wondering when Williams was going to start flashing, then the answer came on Saturday. He will have to keep stacking these kind of performances, but he looked a lot like Danny Striggow did at this same time last season.

The Rookie Receivers

liam coe — Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks on against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was far from an efficient outing for the Jaguars' passing game, with the Jaguars completing just 14-of-25 passes for 181 yards on the day. That meant that if you simply looked at the box score, you likely were not overly impressed by CJ Williams catching two-of-five targets for 28 yards or by Josh Cameron catching one-of-three targets for 17 yards. But when you isolate the flashes by both players, there was a lot to build on.

Williams' first catch was an 11-yard first-down on the sidelines that displayed his ability to get open and make difficult catches near the boundary, while Cameron picked up several yards after the catch on his line reception. Get these two reps with the Jaguars' starters instead of a beat-up backup unit, and there is a good chance that both Williams and Cameron would have flashed even more than they did on a few limited reps on Saturday.

Jabbar Muhammad

Jabbar Muhammad called game, sending the Saints home by recording a stellar rep on the final play of the game for a pass breakup. Muhammad has been terrific over the course of training camp when defending receivers in the red-zone, and he was able to confidently answer the challenge the Saints posed him on the final play of the contest.

Muhammad also had a tackle for loss on a screen play that shows his potential as a nickel cornerback. He made some of the flash plays that, to this point in training camp, have become his trademarks. Out of all of the cornerbacks, he probably had the most positive

The Not So Good

Also Jabbar Muhammad

Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Audric Estime (30) leaps over Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Jabbar Muhammad (37) for a touchdown run during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For the several positives that Muhammad was able to display over the course of the game, it wasn't exactly a perfect outing. The fact that he was able to make a play on the final play of the game to secure the win is important, but there will be a few areas for him to clean up after what we saw play out on Saturday.

Muhammad was one of two defenders who missed a key tackle attempt on Saints running back Audric Estime on the first play from scrimmage, and he was also flagged for defensive pass interference on the play that directly preceded the Jaguars' game-winning play. For as much good as there was, there were also moments that reminded you he is still a very young cornerback.

The Offensive Line

Aug 15, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Michael Heldman (63) sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Carter Bradley (10) during the second quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It has been a brutal training camp for the Jaguars' offensive line and, well, it continued on Saturday. The only players of note along the line who played at all were Wyatt Milum and Jonah Monheim (one drive) and Chuma Edoga (one play before injury), but it was still jarring to see just what the state of the Jaguars' backup offensive line is.

The real issue with the offensive line's performance? They played so poorly because the true top backups, players like Edoga, Milum, and Monheim, all had to start the game because of a rash of injuries along the offensive line. The Jaguars might need to try a trade for a swing lineman at this point because it has been that bad.

Nick Mullens

Neither of the Jaguars' primary two quarterbacks played all that well between Nick Mullens and Carter Bradley, with each thorwing an interception and each completing under 59% of their passes. But the passing game was especially rough for Mullens and the second-team offense, with Mullens completing 3-of-7 passes for 33 yards and an interception. Add in a sack, and Mullens' dropbacks got the Jaguars just 27 yards on eight attempts.

Mullens is not being pushed in terms of the backup quarterback job by any means, and he was behind an offensive line that was overmatched for most of the game. But the fact that he just can't seem to string together positive drives in preseason reps over the last two seasons has to be a little concerning.

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