'I have been dreaming about it since I was a kid': Jaguars rookies anticipate first NFL regular season game

An NFL player's first professional game is something they never forget. 43 of the 53 players on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster have been there before, but the other 10 players are made up of rookies who have yet to step a foot on TIAA Bank Filed on a Sunday afternoon.

For most of those players, that will change 1 p.m. Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Tight end Josh Oliver has already been ruled out with a hamstring injury and, realistically, Gardner Minshew shouldn't see the field either

But for the others, they will have their first chance to carve out their professional football legacies. From starters to backups to special teams players, the rookies are simply happy to see their dreams turning into a reality.

"I am excited. I have a lot of feelings going into this game. It is a dream come true for me," right tackle Jawaan Taylor said Friday, "I have been dreaming about it since I was a kid, so I am excited."

Some of the rookies, like first-round pick defensive end Josh Allen, played preseason snaps and consider that their first professional game experience. Allen said even though he has taken the field before, he is looking forward to the challenge that the Chiefs pose and the start of the regular season.

"I am definitely excited. It is definitely a big game, a big challenge for the defense, and not only the defense but for myself," Allen said. "It is a big challenge, but it is a challenge that we are all geared for and we are ready for."

Not all rookies are built the same, though. Undrafted free agent safety Andrew Wingard played a large role in the reserve defense throughout the entire preseason, and he said he does not think the preseason did justice for the first NFL game feel. That will come Sunday, he said. And he couldn't be happier about it.

"This has been my dream, to be on a 53-man NFL roster, and I am going to get to do it on Sunday. So I am elated. I am happy as I can possibly ever be," he said. "I am literally living my dream right now. It is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me honestly."

Another rookie who played a large number of snaps throughout the preseason that is set to play his first regular season snaps is defensive tackle Dontavius Russell. Russell came to training camp as a late-round draft pick and had to scratch and claw his way to a spot on the roster, making Sunday's moment all the more special.

"Man to be honest, through training camp and all this stuff it has been a rollercoaster. So to get the opportunity to be on the team and actually go out there and get a chance to play in the NFL, it is an unbelievable feeling," Russell said.

"It seems like everything that I did over my years of playing football has paid off now."

But Russell is also taking a modified approach to his first NFL game. While he is excited to begin his career, he wants to normalize the situation as much as possible and treat it like he would any other game.

"The one thing I have been trying to do man is to try to make as normal as possible for me," he said. "I have just been trying to really focus on just doing my job and just being in the moment."

While his fellow rookies played throughout the preseason, linebacker Quincy Williams had to watch from the sidelines due to a meniscus injury. But head coach Doug Marrone said earlier this week that Williams is a full go for Sunday, and the presumed starting linebacker is licking his chops to play football again.

"I am very excited because like I said, I haven't really had a chance to hit someone since my last actual college football game. So it has been like 200-something days," he said. "It is just gonna feel like a relief man, just being out there with my teammates and having fun."

Has the first NFL game feeling set in for Williams? Not yet, he said. But he thinks he knows when it will.

"It is going to happen on Sunday when Mahomes calls me out and (says) like "MIKE 56" and I am going to be like 'ay, this is real.'" Williams laughed.