August 6, 2025 • 33 mins
Kainani Stevens, John Oehser, and Brian Sexton are live with Jags A.M. ahead of the preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The crew discusses competition in the running back room as well as the high level of talent within the wide receiver group. This and more on Jags A.M., presented by Jet Home Loans.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:17):
Welcome into our first Wednesday jags Am of training camp.
Eleventh day of practice. Here, we're really getting into the
dog days at this point. We welcome you into Jagsam
the Sporting on KA Nanni Stevens, Brian Sexton, John Osier
with me. We're here in the hyundaiy studios, but we'll
give you live looks at practice that just kicked off
a little while ago. Training camp gets going once again.
Let's talk about some big things we've seen the last
(00:39):
couple of days at practice and what's gone on since
last week. Quality reps. That's our big thing. Number One.
We got to see a scrimmage in the stadium last week, Brian.
That was the first time we got to see some
actual game action from that. Normally it's just a practice
inside the stadium, but it was pretty cool to see
how much emphasis they actually put on using that scrimmage
as a tool to figure out what they've done on
the team.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You're always look would of that tribe because you guys
go through the motions on the practice field. Not not
to say that they're not giving it, they're old, but
it gets to be muscle memory and then you get
out into the stadium and Liam Cohen. John referenced this yesterday.
He said, when the fans are there, it's just a
little different. We see things differently, and so every rep
out there had the feel of a little bit more importance.
(01:19):
And obviously it isn't any more important than today's practice
or tomorrow's practice, but it was fun to watch on
Friday night.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah. I think what was kind of cool and interesting
was the playmakers made plays. Trevor Lawrence had a really
had a really good scrimmage. Brian Thomas Junior sort of
came alive. I don't want to say he hadn't been
playing well early, but he certainly had his best night
and best day during that. And they showed some explosiveness
(01:48):
in that scrimmage. And Liam Cohen to me afterward, I
don't want to say relieved, but he felt very good
about it. He's an offensive guy. The offense looked good.
They got going. I did think the scrimmage was significant,
maybe as as significant as a scrimmage I've seen around here.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Let's go to our second big thing, which is practice reps. Obviously,
we've put a ton of emphasis on seeing what we
see a training camp. The coaches do too, and at
this point, Lam coaches he's not quite sure exactly who
will be playing in the preseas year.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, it's big, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
I mean you don't know what you have ever, right,
you really don't. I mean you have a feel you
know what you're doing against each other. But as we
saw even in the scrimmage the other night, like we'd
be lying if we didn't see some you know, bright
eyes and maybe getting into guys doing some things that
maybe they hadn't been doing in practice settings because we
(02:42):
were in the stadium and there were some fans there.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
It's just it is different to go through the pregame routine,
to get into your routine of getting ready to go
play a game. But also, like you mentioned, going and
competing against somebody else.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
John, when we talk about the coaching staff and what
they're looking for, they want to see preseason games store
for some of the younger guys. But a lot of
the focus during practice is on the veterans and getting
to know this new system, and I feel like they
can take more from practice at times.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, Brian wrote about it this morning and and Liam
Cone did a nice job of talking about this in
another sound bite. He was with the Rams who didn't
play any players during preseason, I mean any starters during preseason.
He's also with the Bucks that played it a lot,
and he talked about it being a dilemma on what
to do because you do want to see these guys
(03:32):
play reps. You want to see him play meaningful stuff.
We also don't want to get him hurt. So I
my guest Brian is that he'll play starters in this
game and this year because it's so new and he
wants to see it. My guess is as he goes
forward and gets more comfortable with what he's got, I
think he goes to the McVeigh way, and I could
(03:54):
easily see him deeper into his career playing very few
starters in the preseason. That's just a gut he hasn't told. No.
That's sort of my feeling from listen to him yesterday.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, in the conversation yesterday was have you decided yet?
And he said they were going back and forth. He
mentioned that he came from the LA method where they
didn't play. I thought it was also interesting, kay that
he talked about how that was a great leverage point
when they were looking at college free agents, that you
compete to sign and talking about bringing them in and
giving them more reps in game situations because their starters
(04:24):
weren't going to play. But that's just an aside. He
also talked about being in Tampa last year with Todd
Bowles and they did play and they got those starters
in because they needed to get some quality reps with him.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
So, John, I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I don't know that they're going to play a lot,
but I think Liam is installing his system and his
method and his process, and so we're going to see
just a touch of these guys. I mean maybe next
Sunday in New Orleans we'll see a little bit more
of them, and probably not at all in the finale
against Miami.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
But it is a balance.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
It's a difficult balance for coaches because their instincts say,
I want to get them out on the field. It's football,
and yet their preservation instinct says, I need these guys.
Don't open a gay against Carolina.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Our final big thing today is going to be game reps.
We're talking about the preseason game coming up on Saturday
against the Steelers. At this point, we don't know what
the starters will be playing in terms of playing time
or if he'll play at all. Very Lauren said, he'll
be ready if his name is called.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
I think it does help, you know, just from the standpoint,
especially as a quarterback. You know you can get hit.
It's you know, all off season, in all training camp
you can't get hit, So there's a different Sometimes there's
a different time clock. In the pocket. You try to
always play it real and practice, but sometimes you kind
of hang on to the ball and take a little
bit more chances in the pocket because there's no consequences.
(05:38):
But when you're live, it's a little different. So it's
nice to fill the time clock sped up, to fill
the communication with the whole offense, with offensive line protection,
you know, just live full speed reps. I think it
is valuable, you know. I think there's gonna be smart
too though as far as how much you play and
then all that stuff, that's that's for you know, coaching
all them to figure out and for us just to
(05:59):
do our job.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
So I do think there's value though, Brian.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It's not up to us. But would you like to
see Trevor out there doing this new offense a little bit?
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yes, No, listen, I think there's value for him because
he's missed so much time because of injury going back
to the end of the twenty twenty three season, he
just hasn't been completely healthy. So for him in a
new system and John, we've talked extensively about his footwork,
and he's talked about where his eyes and his feet
find that rhythm where they're together. He mentioned that specifically yesterday,
(06:28):
what you can get a lot of work done on
the practice field. I just think it would be better
for him to get some work on the game field
on Saturday night against the Steelers so that you come
back to practice next week and have something to be
able to compare and contract.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, I think it sort of speaks to what we
were talking about earlier. If Trevor was in his second
or third year in Liam's system, I could see them
not playing them with him never having played in it,
and with you know, wasn't a great practice yesterday. He
had been having a lot of good practices leading up
to it. I would just be stunned if they don't
play the starters with Trevor Lawrence sometime in the first
(07:03):
couple of games, just because I still think there's learning
and I think there's Trevor's still trying to get to
that muscle memory point with his footwork, and in this offense,
I think you need in order to get there, you
got to do it in a game at some point, you.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Know, I thought it was interesting, I should kai he
talked about calling Mike Tomlin, the coach of the Steelers,
who wanted to have a conversation with him. You hear
coaches john talk about that with respect to joint practices.
I've never heard in more than thirty years of doing
this that them talk about talking before a game.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah, you started to hear it a little bit in
the last couple of years. I'm with you to your point.
I can't imagine Tom Coughlin and I'm drawing a blank
on who they may have played. I can't imagine getting
on an old landline back in the day and saying, hey,
you want to play your starters in at the third
(07:55):
Jeff Fisher probably wouldn't have done it with but they
weren't playing in the preseason either. But I think it's
I think it's a good change for the league. But
it does speak to what I this was always what
preseason was. Now the league sort of admits it Hey,
let's get this thing ready. It it doesn't matter who
wins or loses. But it is an interesting change because
(08:18):
up to four or five years ago, I'd never heard it.
And I just laugh when I think about Tom and
Bill Parcells getting together talking about starters.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
And I do think there's some regret this year that
they didn't get more practice time with another team. I
know that they were looking at it and it didn't
fit up. They've got that one day two weeks from
tomorrow against the Miami Dolphins. But that's really what the
preseason is becoming. And when we go to an eighteen
game schedule, you're gonna see even fewer preseason games. So
it's it's gonna be more about this, how do we
get the most work done, each of us working together.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Absolutely, stay with us here on jag Zam. We're gonna
talk a little bit about the wide receiver group and
also some names you need to know on this roster.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Jag.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
They am brought to you by Fields Auto Groups see
Fields First, Jacksonville's premiere luxury auto group. You can head
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Speaker 4 (09:12):
We got Alex Kemp out here, a great you know
referee crew out here.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That that did a great job.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
We met with them as a staff at seven am
this morning. They will meet with our players, excuse me,
this afternoon. They'll also meet with the rookies and explain
some of the rule changes from college to pro this evening.
And so we are making a conscious effort and the
league is making a conscious effort. Detailing formations, alignments, assignments
(09:40):
and motions is a huge part of the rule.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
The rules this year.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
The two men in motion, illegal formation, shaving, the line
of scrimmage is show all showed up today, all the
things that they are trying to emphasize. So long winded
way of answering your question, I'd like a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Discipline.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I touch William Pellen looking for some discipline in the
next couple of days before the preseason matchup.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And obviously some of these guys are.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Going to be in their first NFL football game on Saturday,
which is pretty cool. And we have some new names,
not necessarily all of them rookies, but people that you
know you need to know about going to camp, whether
it's a storyline they're pushing to.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Start or whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Brian, who's someone a name that you think is important.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
To well, well, I'm going with the veterans side of
the kay. I'm going with Devon Hamilton because we haven't
seen Mason Smith on the practice field yet. You see
him walking around and that enormous frame that he's got,
and I was told by Josh Allen back during OTAs
that he really put the work in and they were
excited about having him in the middle to push the
pocket and take some of the pressure off of the
(10:42):
outside guys he and Trayvon, And yet he hasn't played yet,
and I haven't seen Eric Armstead on the practice field,
and that kind of makes you wonder where he's at
with his health. So there's a lot of pressure on
Devon Hamilton, who last year played a lot of football
and played pretty well. He kind of worked his way
back from the twenty twenty three injury. But John, it
sure feels like Devon Hamilton is the man in the middle.
(11:05):
I know that Jordan Jefferson and some of the other
young guys are there, but Devon's capable of playing at
a high level. And if this team is going to
have to wait to get Mason and Eric back in
the rotation, it's all gonna be on big Devon Hamilton.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It feels like Tyler Lacy's is gonna matter this year.
But I'm with you, Devon Hamilton. It is to me
the guy they paid him two or three years ago
off of the twenty two season, I think it was,
and he had some big time games because of the
back and because of working his way. It doesn't feel
like he you know, he's maybe been a seven compared
(11:42):
to what they hoped would be a nine something like that.
Not bad, but not dominant. The defensive tackle position's weird
because there's potential there with Mason Smith, Eric Armstead and
Von Hamilton for this to be an Ace's group, but
there's also enough uncertainty around them all that you just
don't know. So I think Von Hamilton is really.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Key, especially in a position group that struggled so much
last year. We're definitely gonna need to see some improvement
there for sure. Uh, John, who's someone you have your
eye on? Is someone a name that people should know?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Laquent Allen and I only chose Laquent over Quinson. I'm
gonna blow the names Lynn and Jackson cause they feel
to me like very much the same guy. I think
le Quinn's ahead. He was a seventh round draft pick.
H he's gonna be on the team and he's a
seventh round draft pick. The running back room is really deep,
(12:32):
but they really like this guy. Their issue is they
have five backs they like, can you keep all five?
I think they love the situation. I don't know. I
don't know that they have an elite guy at the
running back position. I don't know that you need an
elite guy at the running back position. But I think
they have again going back with you know my number system,
and they've got five guys who are eight and sevens
(12:54):
who are really really good. But Quinn Allen's tough. He
passed blocks well as as Kay's had numerous times. This
guy might be a real fine.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
He's a natural receiver.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, I mean natural.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
You just see the way that he reaches for the
ball and how it just settles into his hands and
he's not looking to turn up the field before he's
got it. I mean it's he's a talented guy.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I love a nasty Yeah. I mean he'll fight you.
I know he likes good and so what I know
that about.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
You give me the problem of having too good of
a running back room?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Just off the top.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Travis Etn and Tank Bixby, I think have both had
good practices when I have focused on them. I have
seen them running with power, which is not Etn's specialty.
But also, you know, it was just two years ago
that Etn gave you fourteen fifteen hundred total yards and
twelve touchdowns. So if you've got him playing at a
higher level in this offense and Laquin Allen out there,
(13:52):
who does a lot of the same things he does
in terms of catching the ball man, you've got a
lot of options for your offensive coordinator.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Yeah. Just a note on Travis. I know people are
watching this and trying to go back now to the
March storyline, Oh, could they trade Trafs. I don't think
that's happening. They are really impressed and love what Travis
Atns brought him. I think they like him more than
they thought they would when they got it.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
He's been the guy I've been most impressed with so
far in this camp because he had a lot to
play for coming in on the fifth year option. He's
on a one year deal. In the running backs, we
know how they've been I don't say devalued, but they're
not getting the money that other positions are. He looks
sensational and I went back and looked at the numbers
and last year was an off year for him, but
the two years before, his two years of playing in
twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three, he had more
(14:35):
than fourteen hundred all purpose yards and more than I
think he had twelve touchdowns one year and eight the others.
So he was a productive, explosive player. And if they
get that guy, wow, they got a lot to work with.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
They've definitely been focusing on using him in the passing
game as well, which he's improved upon every time I've
been watching him in practice. I mean a diving catch
the other day was impressive. So definitely good to have
options in the running back room for once. I have
a lot of different people to look at. I went
with the linebacker percent with Jack Kaiser, rookie out of
Notre Dame. They love this guy that they talked a lot,
James Gladstone when I talked to him at the draft.
(15:06):
You know, they looked at a lot of guys that
stayed at one school. Captains on their teams have that
leadership capability, especially at linebacker. That's what you want to
see out there. Obviously we have that in Foya Luken,
but got a plan for the future as well. They
love this guy. So far, he's been contributing on special teams,
which will probably be one of his main roles.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
But that's a crowded room as well. And now that.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Jayleen McLoud fellow rookie, he's injured right now, a lower
body injury. I believe week to week, so I could
open some things up there. But they love Dennis Gardek
John who just came off of a pup list recently.
They love the energy from him, so could be could
be interesting to see where they go with those choices.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It's gonna be a new looking roster, and there's a
lot of guys we're talking about who who weren't here.
The stamp of these guys is going to be on
this team quickly. I like Kaiser as well. You know,
he's he's a guy who you would think, uh needs
to come in and play right away because he was
in college for thirteen years so but he's ready to go. Yeah.
(16:01):
I mean a lot of these guys, because of COVID
I coming here right now, are a little older. They're
not developmental guys. So I would think you would see
Kaiser in a special teams role, and I think there
would be some confidence in him as a backup. Sometimes
you have rookie backups at linebacker who they're hoping don't
play because you just want him on special teams. Kaiser,
(16:21):
I think by by the time the season starts to
be a little more confident in him as a rookie
than maybe others.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
You have some really good special teams players here. Daniel
Thomas Dewy wingerd I'm told that Kaiser has the ability
to be a top performer on special teams. He's that smart.
He understands it, and he likes doing it. If he
can do that, he's going to find his way onto
the field.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Also definitely carve him a spot on the roster for sure.
So we've talked a little bit about the names you
need to know. Coming back after the break, we're going
to go into the wide receiver group, do a deep dive,
tell you everything you need to know about that. For
twelve years, Dreambinders Holmes have been proud to call themselves
the official homebuilder of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Visit dreambinders dot
com for all of the available inventory and go Jags.
(17:05):
Looking back into Jag Zam today. Eleventh practice so far
of training camp.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
We're in it now.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
There's a preseason game coming up, but a lot of
the off season talk has been about the weapons and
the wide receiver group groups specifically obviously when you had
Travis Hunter, that's something to be talked about, especially after
the year that Brian Thomas Junior had. But in terms
of Travis Hunter, he's still learning this offense. Liam Cohen
says they're working him in. Obviously he'll play on both
sides of the ball, but they do want him to
feel comfortable when he's out there, and he talked a
(17:31):
little bit yesterday about how they've been easing him into
the offense as well.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
He's still learning twelve personnel other positions so that he
can continue to get in right in some of those
personnel groupings. You know, because he plays the F in eleven,
to go and play the Z in twelve is just
you know, it's just another added learning curve that we
need to continue to work on. But you know, I
(17:58):
think he'll say it was probably it was a little
bit more tired than he you know, usually gets, but
I thought, you know, still showed up, made some plays
across the middle, as he's kind of continued to do,
and it's just good to get into that, you know,
habit of As we mentioned, we wanted to get to
this point of post scrimmage just starting to let him
roll in between racks to get him some extra work.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
John.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
For the first time yesterday we saw Travis Hunter play
both sides in a scrimmage. He's putting he had his
teel jersey on for offense and he put a white
penny on and play defense and not too much of
a break, but similar to what he's gonna be dealing
with in a game.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah, at some point he's got to get used to it.
And I thought they did a smart thing early on.
Liam Cohne talked in that SoundBite about them really wanting
to make sure that he was over his feet each day,
meaning that they weren't giving him too much. They let
him learn. I think letting him go on offense and
(18:50):
then defense on separate days made a lot of sense.
He looked fine to me. It's intriguing, Brian, but so far,
it doesn't feel like they have run into anything where
they've gone whoa this can't happen. Listen, so so far,
so good.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
If he's still learning, I mean, all you have to
do is just turn on your Instagram feed and see
all the photos, see all the video of him floating
in mid air and making dramatic catches and making plays.
I mean, if he's still learning, it's hard to see
because he is playing at a natural level for him.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Obviously, the game of football.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Is just part of who he is. I was interested
in how he would handle all of it yesterday, and
I have to just john keep coming back and taking
my conventional wisdom hat off and stop thinking, well, how
much can he handle on offense and how much can
he handle on defense? Because he's different. You have to
see him for what he's capable of doing and understand
they're trying to find a way to maximize what he's
(19:47):
capable of doing, and not thinking, well, that's too many
snaps on offense or he's got to get more snaps
on defense.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Puts your conventional wisdom hat right next to your attack hat.
So I don't think I had it. I think what's
interesting about Travis Hunter is what he can bring in
terms of if he was going to be your number
one sole receiver. I'd be worried, but yam May Brown
and we're talking about receiver, So go into it. Dammy
(20:12):
Brown and Brian Thomas Junior. To me feel like guys
that you're gonna be able to depend on down in
and down out. I'm not saying you couldn't do it
that with Travis, but it seems like he can compliment
those guys with big plays. It feels like a good mix.
I'm not saying Travis Hunter can never do that. I
don't know that I would want to go in with
Travis Hunter having to be the guy who has to
(20:33):
get me eight for one hundred and ten in week one.
If the other guys can get both ninety and Travis
makes two or three big plays to strain the defense. Ye,
he's not under an inordinate amount of pressure to be
the guy, I guess, is my point. I think that's
a good situation.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
It was in the scrimmage of the night. There was
one play in particular where you could just see that
the defense was stressed all the way out and here
comes Travis Hunter and no one knows how to cover him.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, I think it's a good compliment, good mix right
at that spot.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
John, I think a good point about Diami Brown. Obviously
a new edition as well. He's on a one year contract,
but he has been able to make some very explosive
plays previously with Washington. We've seen it in practice and
in the scrimmage as well. He's been benefiting from that
grant you. Dinski actually talked about it earlier this week
after the scrimmage about that dynamic play ability that Diami has.
Speaker 6 (21:26):
I think that's kind of what you saw a little
bit from him last year.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
He has that ability, you know.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
I think the improvement in some of the stuff that
he's shown in the run game and even with the
different routes that we've asked him to run will only
hopefully expand his.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Ability to create explosives. But last year, whether.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
It was running go balls or vertical routes or with
the ball in hand on screens in different plays, I
think that's something that's in his wheelhouse.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Right. We talked a lot about all these different weapons,
but Diami Brown's kind of benefiting from some of this already.
As you know, you're putting a ton of focus on
Brian Thomas Junior obviously, and Travis Huner somebody's gonna be open.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
I saw him in the playoffs, like you guys did,
when he made that run that basically matched his whole season,
So I was curious what he was going to be
when he showed up here. We know he's fast, but
he's also explosive, and there's a difference between the two.
Not everyone who's fast is explosive. He also changes direction
John on a dime, which is really impressive. He's moving
so fast and he can turn and build the other direction.
(22:22):
I think he's got legit ability to be a number two,
a ninety catch guy. I mean, I don't want to
Jimmy and Keenan, right, I mean both of those guys
were capable of putting up more than ninety catches in
a season. I don't know that they've had two guys
here that you'd be able to say that about since then.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
I'm with you, and I think we were looking for
the same thing. He hadn't played and been very consistent
in Washington. So when you show up, your first instinct,
you know, was this flash in the pan you're trying
to look for that. He's much more polished, much more
consistent practice in and practice out. Then maybe thought he
(23:00):
would be, and I had nothing to go on before that,
but you just wondered because he hadn't played a whole lot.
He's more veteran and more polished than I expected, and
I think he can be a consistent guy for him
and I kind of wonder when they signed him, Okay,
this might be a guy who explodes every three or
four games. I think between him BTJ, you've got two guys,
(23:24):
it wouldn't surprise you a week to week if you
had to receive. If either of those guys were over
ninety yards, was the consistent go to guy in the offense.
I think they both can handle it. What a difference
between last year and this year's receiving court.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Well, and you and I were both here in ninety
six when Keenan McCardell showed up, and I think he
had like fifty four catches was the most he had
had in his time with the Cleveland Browns, and no
one knew kai what he was going to be. And
it wasn't until you got him on the field and
he figured out how to work opposite Jimmy Well. The
new Jimmy is obviously Brian Thomas, and now Diami has
an opertunity to figure that out, and then you're mixing
(24:03):
Travis Hunter.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
I mean, it's it.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
This is the best receiving core they've had in more
than twenty years here, maybe twenty five.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Let's talk a little bit about Brian Thomaston. You're obviously
a spectacular rookie season, but now heading into a sophomore campaign,
getting to learn a new offense. Trevor Lawrence working with him,
spoke a little bit about them trying to get on
the same page with this new offense.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
Just the communication and talking. I think we've made some
big steps since since the spring, and you got our
thing too. We didn't get to play a full season together,
so you know, we've been trying to build that and
be just in lockstep and always know each other's thinking
and when we get those one on ones, making all
those plays, giving them opportunities, always going to be giving
them a chance to get his hand on the ball.
And there has been some frustration, I think from both
(24:45):
of us, and just offensively because there's been somewhere you know,
I might miss a throw, we might not make a
contested catch, you know, maybe they push coverage to them,
and there is days where it's a little frustrating, and
that's stuff you work through in practice. And we both
expect a lot of out of each other, and I
think that's the cool thing about our relationships. We expect
to make all those plays, so it's frustrating when you don't.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
And like I said, we.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
Just got to keep working in and keep he's such
a great player. Just keep giving them all the opportunities
and putting the ball somewhere where you can get it
and always giving him a chance.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
It's really important Ran Toma Junior.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
I probably had one of his best days in the scrimmage.
I would say he struggled other days, John, But I
think it's important to remember he didn't play a time
with Trevor because it was hurt. Last year, a lot
of his success was with mac Jones. So not only
is he learning that new offense, it's got to get
used to working with Trevor again.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah, and I realized this runs counter to our I
want to see it right now world we live in.
I'll worry about BTJ if by week three there's not
a huge game. And frankly, like he was too good
last year too often to make me think that when
the lights go on, it's not going to be there.
(25:50):
And there have been some moments in practice this year
where you saw it of okay, well that's there's a
comeback ground. I'm thinking about, like, Okay, this is special stuff.
They'll get it. He's too good and this coaching staff
knows to get him the ball. The offense is going
to be too good. I think BTJ will be fine,
(26:11):
and I think they're chemistry. Maybe not week one, but
by by week fear for it. The terror's not dumb.
He's gonna throw BTJ a the ball.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
It looks it looks so easy for BTJ last year,
and maybe for some reason it was. But there's always
some semblance of a learning curve when you get here,
and I think maybe he feels the pressure or maybe
he's putting the pressure on himself to take that next
step and rise to the elite level, the Justin Jefferson,
the Jamar Chase level. It'll be that kind of a player,
(26:39):
which I think everyone in this room thinks he's capable
of being. And now you're talking about adding that because
we were told he's a top competitor. John to the
equation of new coach. This quarterback. I just I think
when the lights go on, there.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Are flickered once and that's been in the scrimmage. He
has best day. That's what he is, right, And I
think some of it as well.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Uh, if anyone's been a practice and seeing any of this,
I think some of it's frustrating on his own part
cause he expects himself to be right ten for ten
a hundred percent every single catch, every opportunity. So some
of that is, you know, him being competitive. So I
don't wanna make it sound like he looks terrible at
practice or anything like that, but obviously BTJ is very special.
I'm looking forward to his sophomore season. Let's talk a
(27:22):
little bit about rounding out this room. I think Parker
Washington's obviously got that four spot locked up. But who's
the fifth receiver on this team?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
John Who? Well, Parker's looked really really good, Uh, better
than I thought he would, and he he gets more
veteran each year, which you're supposed to be, and everybody
he does intriguing obviously is cephas h h. He for
people who haven't really followed it closely, every practice that
makes a big play, ye yeah, Uh, he feels to
me like a guy who I don't know how consistently
(27:55):
he would be if he had to start and play
every game, because I don't know that once defenses would
start to focus on him, I don't know that he
would have the answers yet these other guys do, which
I'm not knocking. He's a first year guy, but I
think if you put him in there as the fourth
or fifth guy, as an optionary once in a while,
he can beat you deep if you're not paying attention
(28:16):
to him every practice. And this is practice eleven. I've
probably written about him in seven practices because he's had
some big play so there's there's some capability there. He's raw,
but it's hard to imagine them not keeping that around
and trying to figure ou how to use it.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Well, you know what I'm gonna say, can you play
on special teams?
Speaker 3 (28:35):
There we go, right?
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I mean, if he can, then they're looking for a
Tim Jones kind of player.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
You're not sure Joshua is that, but I think he's
gonna be around here, but go ahead, right.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Well, but just because of his explosiveness, and I had
heard the practice that I missed, I heard that he
made a big play and went, Okay, well we saw
a big place from him last year, but you just
mentioned the consistency you write about him time and time
and time again. So what I'm going to be looking
for from him on Saturday night against the Steelers and
against the Saints and against the Dolphins is can you
learn to contribute on special teams? I just mentioned the
(29:06):
name Tim Jones, who was a long time wide receiver here,
no plays of you can even remember in the offense,
but Mandity Mack plays on special teams, and they're looking
to find that guy Parker as you mentioned it for well,
he's the return guy, but you need that wide receiver
who's got the speed and the mentality of going down
and making plays when special teams cover the ball.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
It'll be an interesting spot to play out as the
rest of the preseason goes along. So says here, we
have one more break in Jags Am, but coming up,
we're going to tell you all about the throwbacks and
which games you're gonna see him in this year. Jags fans,
if you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home, check
out zipchare dot com abows all the customizable options. Zipchair
is furniture for fans. Have a special announcement here on
(29:52):
jags Am. Obviously, last year we got the throwbacks everyone
desperately wanted back in our lives, and now we have
a special announcement about four new games. So check out
the commercial for the throwbacks this year.
Speaker 7 (30:05):
Hold it there, Cam, Is that what you're having for breakfast?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Well?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Yeah, it's what I have every morning.
Speaker 7 (30:11):
Wait, don't you want something more out of your breakfast,
something with a little more kick? Sure, here, try this.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Prowler puffs.
Speaker 7 (30:23):
Go ahead, give it a taste.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Whoa, I feel so nostalgic.
Speaker 7 (30:32):
Wellcat, Prowler Puffs now have four times the nostalgia in
every bite.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Whoa four times?
Speaker 7 (30:40):
Go ahead, give it another taste.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
He's got some new head.
Speaker 8 (30:45):
Fuck, cut down, sack, shuffle your feet, it's gonna get back.
Put it a town many give me cut fuck, cuck down,
whatck down the dock?
Speaker 7 (30:58):
We're going again on.
Speaker 8 (31:00):
Baby's gonna get any more?
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Man, I can't wait for chick off.
Speaker 7 (31:14):
Go get them Cam, get ready for game day the
only way with Prowler Puffs. They're bold, they're crunchy, they're back.
Collect all four flavors today. Prowler puffs taste the legacy
Prowler Puffs are not an actual serreial. Side effects may
include spontaneous nostalgia, excessive team pryme, and uncontrollable do vol Jacks.
Will be available while supplies last. Non Jaguars Fanship consulted
(31:35):
doctor before consuming Prowler puffs off for not bound Indianapolis
used it, and especially not Nashville. He's at Jaguars dot
com slash tickets for more details.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Sadly, Cam didn't save us any Prowler puffs, but we
do the boxes and we're happy to announce that there
are going to be four throwback games this year. Gonna
Star out and Week three against the Texans, Monday Night
football against the Chiefs, the Colts matchup I believe, Week fourteen,
and then the final game of the season.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Against the Titans.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
Four times for fun, guys.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I love them. It's like a right back cool stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
We're back in time.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
So happy and thanks to Cam, little partising and commercial,
great kid, great sense of humor, great care. I think
fans uh embraced that. I think it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Definitely not born in ninety I don't even think no,
but we appreciate the throwback nature of it. Anyway, we
will be back with you on jag xam tomorrow live
outside from training camp, so join us then as we'll
preview a little bit of that preseason matchup against the Steelers.
Welcome into our first Wednesday jags Am of training camp.
Eleventh day of practice. Here, we're really getting into the
dog days at this point. We welcome you into Jagsam
the Sporting on KA Nanni Stevens, Brian Sexton, John Osier
with me. We're here in the hyundaiy studios, but we'll
give you live looks at practice that just kicked off
a little while ago. Training camp gets going once again.
Let's talk about some big things we've seen the last
(00:39):
couple of days at practice and what's gone on since
last week. Quality reps. That's our big thing. Number One.
We got to see a scrimmage in the stadium last week, Brian.
That was the first time we got to see some
actual game action from that. Normally it's just a practice
inside the stadium, but it was pretty cool to see
how much emphasis they actually put on using that scrimmage
as a tool to figure out what they've done on
the team.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You're always look would of that tribe because you guys
go through the motions on the practice field. Not not
to say that they're not giving it, they're old, but
it gets to be muscle memory and then you get
out into the stadium and Liam Cohen. John referenced this yesterday.
He said, when the fans are there, it's just a
little different. We see things differently, and so every rep
out there had the feel of a little bit more importance.
(01:19):
And obviously it isn't any more important than today's practice
or tomorrow's practice, but it was fun to watch on
Friday night.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah. I think what was kind of cool and interesting
was the playmakers made plays. Trevor Lawrence had a really
had a really good scrimmage. Brian Thomas Junior sort of
came alive. I don't want to say he hadn't been
playing well early, but he certainly had his best night
and best day during that. And they showed some explosiveness
(01:48):
in that scrimmage. And Liam Cohen to me afterward, I
don't want to say relieved, but he felt very good
about it. He's an offensive guy. The offense looked good.
They got going. I did think the scrimmage was significant,
maybe as as significant as a scrimmage I've seen around here.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Let's go to our second big thing, which is practice reps. Obviously,
we've put a ton of emphasis on seeing what we
see a training camp. The coaches do too, and at
this point, Lam coaches he's not quite sure exactly who
will be playing in the preseas year.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, it's big, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
I mean you don't know what you have ever, right,
you really don't. I mean you have a feel you
know what you're doing against each other. But as we
saw even in the scrimmage the other night, like we'd
be lying if we didn't see some you know, bright
eyes and maybe getting into guys doing some things that
maybe they hadn't been doing in practice settings because we
(02:42):
were in the stadium and there were some fans there.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
It's just it is different to go through the pregame routine,
to get into your routine of getting ready to go
play a game. But also, like you mentioned, going and
competing against somebody else.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
John, when we talk about the coaching staff and what
they're looking for, they want to see preseason games store
for some of the younger guys. But a lot of
the focus during practice is on the veterans and getting
to know this new system, and I feel like they
can take more from practice at times.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, Brian wrote about it this morning and and Liam
Cone did a nice job of talking about this in
another sound bite. He was with the Rams who didn't
play any players during preseason, I mean any starters during preseason.
He's also with the Bucks that played it a lot,
and he talked about it being a dilemma on what
to do because you do want to see these guys
(03:32):
play reps. You want to see him play meaningful stuff.
We also don't want to get him hurt. So I
my guest Brian is that he'll play starters in this
game and this year because it's so new and he
wants to see it. My guess is as he goes
forward and gets more comfortable with what he's got, I
think he goes to the McVeigh way, and I could
(03:54):
easily see him deeper into his career playing very few
starters in the preseason. That's just a gut he hasn't told. No.
That's sort of my feeling from listen to him yesterday.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, in the conversation yesterday was have you decided yet?
And he said they were going back and forth. He
mentioned that he came from the LA method where they
didn't play. I thought it was also interesting, kay that
he talked about how that was a great leverage point
when they were looking at college free agents, that you
compete to sign and talking about bringing them in and
giving them more reps in game situations because their starters
(04:24):
weren't going to play. But that's just an aside. He
also talked about being in Tampa last year with Todd
Bowles and they did play and they got those starters
in because they needed to get some quality reps with him.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
So, John, I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I don't know that they're going to play a lot,
but I think Liam is installing his system and his
method and his process, and so we're going to see
just a touch of these guys. I mean maybe next
Sunday in New Orleans we'll see a little bit more
of them, and probably not at all in the finale
against Miami.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
But it is a balance.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
It's a difficult balance for coaches because their instincts say,
I want to get them out on the field. It's football,
and yet their preservation instinct says, I need these guys.
Don't open a gay against Carolina.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Our final big thing today is going to be game reps.
We're talking about the preseason game coming up on Saturday
against the Steelers. At this point, we don't know what
the starters will be playing in terms of playing time
or if he'll play at all. Very Lauren said, he'll
be ready if his name is called.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
I think it does help, you know, just from the standpoint,
especially as a quarterback. You know you can get hit.
It's you know, all off season, in all training camp
you can't get hit, So there's a different Sometimes there's
a different time clock. In the pocket. You try to
always play it real and practice, but sometimes you kind
of hang on to the ball and take a little
bit more chances in the pocket because there's no consequences.
(05:38):
But when you're live, it's a little different. So it's
nice to fill the time clock sped up, to fill
the communication with the whole offense, with offensive line protection,
you know, just live full speed reps. I think it
is valuable, you know. I think there's gonna be smart
too though as far as how much you play and
then all that stuff, that's that's for you know, coaching
all them to figure out and for us just to
(05:59):
do our job.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
So I do think there's value though, Brian.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It's not up to us. But would you like to
see Trevor out there doing this new offense a little bit?
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yes, No, listen, I think there's value for him because
he's missed so much time because of injury going back
to the end of the twenty twenty three season, he
just hasn't been completely healthy. So for him in a
new system and John, we've talked extensively about his footwork,
and he's talked about where his eyes and his feet
find that rhythm where they're together. He mentioned that specifically yesterday,
(06:28):
what you can get a lot of work done on
the practice field. I just think it would be better
for him to get some work on the game field
on Saturday night against the Steelers so that you come
back to practice next week and have something to be
able to compare and contract.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, I think it sort of speaks to what we
were talking about earlier. If Trevor was in his second
or third year in Liam's system, I could see them
not playing them with him never having played in it,
and with you know, wasn't a great practice yesterday. He
had been having a lot of good practices leading up
to it. I would just be stunned if they don't
play the starters with Trevor Lawrence sometime in the first
(07:03):
couple of games, just because I still think there's learning
and I think there's Trevor's still trying to get to
that muscle memory point with his footwork, and in this offense,
I think you need in order to get there, you
got to do it in a game at some point, you.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Know, I thought it was interesting, I should kai he
talked about calling Mike Tomlin, the coach of the Steelers,
who wanted to have a conversation with him. You hear
coaches john talk about that with respect to joint practices.
I've never heard in more than thirty years of doing
this that them talk about talking before a game.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah, you started to hear it a little bit in
the last couple of years. I'm with you to your point.
I can't imagine Tom Coughlin and I'm drawing a blank
on who they may have played. I can't imagine getting
on an old landline back in the day and saying, hey,
you want to play your starters in at the third
(07:55):
Jeff Fisher probably wouldn't have done it with but they
weren't playing in the preseason either. But I think it's
I think it's a good change for the league. But
it does speak to what I this was always what
preseason was. Now the league sort of admits it Hey,
let's get this thing ready. It it doesn't matter who
wins or loses. But it is an interesting change because
(08:18):
up to four or five years ago, I'd never heard it.
And I just laugh when I think about Tom and
Bill Parcells getting together talking about starters.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
And I do think there's some regret this year that
they didn't get more practice time with another team. I
know that they were looking at it and it didn't
fit up. They've got that one day two weeks from
tomorrow against the Miami Dolphins. But that's really what the
preseason is becoming. And when we go to an eighteen
game schedule, you're gonna see even fewer preseason games. So
it's it's gonna be more about this, how do we
get the most work done, each of us working together.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Absolutely, stay with us here on jag Zam. We're gonna
talk a little bit about the wide receiver group and
also some names you need to know on this roster.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Jag.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
They am brought to you by Fields Auto Groups see
Fields First, Jacksonville's premiere luxury auto group. You can head
over to Fields Auto dot com.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
We got Alex Kemp out here, a great you know
referee crew out here.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That that did a great job.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
We met with them as a staff at seven am
this morning. They will meet with our players, excuse me,
this afternoon. They'll also meet with the rookies and explain
some of the rule changes from college to pro this evening.
And so we are making a conscious effort and the
league is making a conscious effort. Detailing formations, alignments, assignments
(09:40):
and motions is a huge part of the rule.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
The rules this year.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
The two men in motion, illegal formation, shaving, the line
of scrimmage is show all showed up today, all the
things that they are trying to emphasize. So long winded
way of answering your question, I'd like a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Discipline.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I touch William Pellen looking for some discipline in the
next couple of days before the preseason matchup.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And obviously some of these guys are.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Going to be in their first NFL football game on Saturday,
which is pretty cool. And we have some new names,
not necessarily all of them rookies, but people that you
know you need to know about going to camp, whether
it's a storyline they're pushing to.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Start or whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Brian, who's someone a name that you think is important.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
To well, well, I'm going with the veterans side of
the kay. I'm going with Devon Hamilton because we haven't
seen Mason Smith on the practice field yet. You see
him walking around and that enormous frame that he's got,
and I was told by Josh Allen back during OTAs
that he really put the work in and they were
excited about having him in the middle to push the
pocket and take some of the pressure off of the
(10:42):
outside guys he and Trayvon, And yet he hasn't played yet,
and I haven't seen Eric Armstead on the practice field,
and that kind of makes you wonder where he's at
with his health. So there's a lot of pressure on
Devon Hamilton, who last year played a lot of football
and played pretty well. He kind of worked his way
back from the twenty twenty three injury. But John, it
sure feels like Devon Hamilton is the man in the middle.
(11:05):
I know that Jordan Jefferson and some of the other
young guys are there, but Devon's capable of playing at
a high level. And if this team is going to
have to wait to get Mason and Eric back in
the rotation, it's all gonna be on big Devon Hamilton.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It feels like Tyler Lacy's is gonna matter this year.
But I'm with you, Devon Hamilton. It is to me
the guy they paid him two or three years ago
off of the twenty two season, I think it was,
and he had some big time games because of the
back and because of working his way. It doesn't feel
like he you know, he's maybe been a seven compared
(11:42):
to what they hoped would be a nine something like that.
Not bad, but not dominant. The defensive tackle position's weird
because there's potential there with Mason Smith, Eric Armstead and
Von Hamilton for this to be an Ace's group, but
there's also enough uncertainty around them all that you just
don't know. So I think Von Hamilton is really.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Key, especially in a position group that struggled so much
last year. We're definitely gonna need to see some improvement
there for sure. Uh, John, who's someone you have your
eye on? Is someone a name that people should know?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Laquent Allen and I only chose Laquent over Quinson. I'm
gonna blow the names Lynn and Jackson cause they feel
to me like very much the same guy. I think
le Quinn's ahead. He was a seventh round draft pick.
H he's gonna be on the team and he's a
seventh round draft pick. The running back room is really deep,
(12:32):
but they really like this guy. Their issue is they
have five backs they like, can you keep all five?
I think they love the situation. I don't know. I
don't know that they have an elite guy at the
running back position. I don't know that you need an
elite guy at the running back position. But I think
they have again going back with you know my number system,
and they've got five guys who are eight and sevens
(12:54):
who are really really good. But Quinn Allen's tough. He
passed blocks well as as Kay's had numerous times. This
guy might be a real fine.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
He's a natural receiver.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, I mean natural.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
You just see the way that he reaches for the
ball and how it just settles into his hands and
he's not looking to turn up the field before he's
got it. I mean it's he's a talented guy.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
I love a nasty Yeah. I mean he'll fight you.
I know he likes good and so what I know
that about.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
You give me the problem of having too good of
a running back room?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Just off the top.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Travis Etn and Tank Bixby, I think have both had
good practices when I have focused on them. I have
seen them running with power, which is not Etn's specialty.
But also, you know, it was just two years ago
that Etn gave you fourteen fifteen hundred total yards and
twelve touchdowns. So if you've got him playing at a
higher level in this offense and Laquin Allen out there,
(13:52):
who does a lot of the same things he does
in terms of catching the ball man, you've got a
lot of options for your offensive coordinator.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Yeah. Just a note on Travis. I know people are
watching this and trying to go back now to the
March storyline, Oh, could they trade Trafs. I don't think
that's happening. They are really impressed and love what Travis
Atns brought him. I think they like him more than
they thought they would when they got it.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
He's been the guy I've been most impressed with so
far in this camp because he had a lot to
play for coming in on the fifth year option. He's
on a one year deal. In the running backs, we
know how they've been I don't say devalued, but they're
not getting the money that other positions are. He looks
sensational and I went back and looked at the numbers
and last year was an off year for him, but
the two years before, his two years of playing in
twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three, he had more
(14:35):
than fourteen hundred all purpose yards and more than I
think he had twelve touchdowns one year and eight the others.
So he was a productive, explosive player. And if they
get that guy, wow, they got a lot to work with.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
They've definitely been focusing on using him in the passing
game as well, which he's improved upon every time I've
been watching him in practice. I mean a diving catch
the other day was impressive. So definitely good to have
options in the running back room for once. I have
a lot of different people to look at. I went
with the linebacker percent with Jack Kaiser, rookie out of
Notre Dame. They love this guy that they talked a lot,
James Gladstone when I talked to him at the draft.
(15:06):
You know, they looked at a lot of guys that
stayed at one school. Captains on their teams have that
leadership capability, especially at linebacker. That's what you want to
see out there. Obviously we have that in Foya Luken,
but got a plan for the future as well. They
love this guy. So far, he's been contributing on special teams,
which will probably be one of his main roles.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
But that's a crowded room as well. And now that.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Jayleen McLoud fellow rookie, he's injured right now, a lower
body injury. I believe week to week, so I could
open some things up there. But they love Dennis Gardek
John who just came off of a pup list recently.
They love the energy from him, so could be could
be interesting to see where they go with those choices.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It's gonna be a new looking roster, and there's a
lot of guys we're talking about who who weren't here.
The stamp of these guys is going to be on
this team quickly. I like Kaiser as well. You know,
he's he's a guy who you would think, uh needs
to come in and play right away because he was
in college for thirteen years so but he's ready to go. Yeah.
(16:01):
I mean a lot of these guys, because of COVID
I coming here right now, are a little older. They're
not developmental guys. So I would think you would see
Kaiser in a special teams role, and I think there
would be some confidence in him as a backup. Sometimes
you have rookie backups at linebacker who they're hoping don't
play because you just want him on special teams. Kaiser,
(16:21):
I think by by the time the season starts to
be a little more confident in him as a rookie
than maybe others.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
You have some really good special teams players here. Daniel
Thomas Dewy wingerd I'm told that Kaiser has the ability
to be a top performer on special teams. He's that smart.
He understands it, and he likes doing it. If he
can do that, he's going to find his way onto
the field.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Also definitely carve him a spot on the roster for sure.
So we've talked a little bit about the names you
need to know. Coming back after the break, we're going
to go into the wide receiver group, do a deep dive,
tell you everything you need to know about that. For
twelve years, Dreambinders Holmes have been proud to call themselves
the official homebuilder of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Visit dreambinders dot
com for all of the available inventory and go Jags.
(17:05):
Looking back into Jag Zam today. Eleventh practice so far
of training camp.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
We're in it now.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
There's a preseason game coming up, but a lot of
the off season talk has been about the weapons and
the wide receiver group groups specifically obviously when you had
Travis Hunter, that's something to be talked about, especially after
the year that Brian Thomas Junior had. But in terms
of Travis Hunter, he's still learning this offense. Liam Cohen
says they're working him in. Obviously he'll play on both
sides of the ball, but they do want him to
feel comfortable when he's out there, and he talked a
(17:31):
little bit yesterday about how they've been easing him into
the offense as well.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
He's still learning twelve personnel other positions so that he
can continue to get in right in some of those
personnel groupings. You know, because he plays the F in eleven,
to go and play the Z in twelve is just
you know, it's just another added learning curve that we
need to continue to work on. But you know, I
(17:58):
think he'll say it was probably it was a little
bit more tired than he you know, usually gets, but
I thought, you know, still showed up, made some plays
across the middle, as he's kind of continued to do,
and it's just good to get into that, you know,
habit of As we mentioned, we wanted to get to
this point of post scrimmage just starting to let him
roll in between racks to get him some extra work.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
John.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
For the first time yesterday we saw Travis Hunter play
both sides in a scrimmage. He's putting he had his
teel jersey on for offense and he put a white
penny on and play defense and not too much of
a break, but similar to what he's gonna be dealing
with in a game.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah, at some point he's got to get used to it.
And I thought they did a smart thing early on.
Liam Cohne talked in that SoundBite about them really wanting
to make sure that he was over his feet each day,
meaning that they weren't giving him too much. They let
him learn. I think letting him go on offense and
(18:50):
then defense on separate days made a lot of sense.
He looked fine to me. It's intriguing, Brian, but so far,
it doesn't feel like they have run into anything where
they've gone whoa this can't happen. Listen, so so far,
so good.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
If he's still learning, I mean, all you have to
do is just turn on your Instagram feed and see
all the photos, see all the video of him floating
in mid air and making dramatic catches and making plays.
I mean, if he's still learning, it's hard to see
because he is playing at a natural level for him.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Obviously, the game of football.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Is just part of who he is. I was interested
in how he would handle all of it yesterday, and
I have to just john keep coming back and taking
my conventional wisdom hat off and stop thinking, well, how
much can he handle on offense and how much can
he handle on defense? Because he's different. You have to
see him for what he's capable of doing and understand
they're trying to find a way to maximize what he's
(19:47):
capable of doing, and not thinking, well, that's too many
snaps on offense or he's got to get more snaps
on defense.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Puts your conventional wisdom hat right next to your attack hat.
So I don't think I had it. I think what's
interesting about Travis Hunter is what he can bring in
terms of if he was going to be your number
one sole receiver. I'd be worried, but yam May Brown
and we're talking about receiver, So go into it. Dammy
(20:12):
Brown and Brian Thomas Junior. To me feel like guys
that you're gonna be able to depend on down in
and down out. I'm not saying you couldn't do it
that with Travis, but it seems like he can compliment
those guys with big plays. It feels like a good mix.
I'm not saying Travis Hunter can never do that. I
don't know that I would want to go in with
Travis Hunter having to be the guy who has to
(20:33):
get me eight for one hundred and ten in week one.
If the other guys can get both ninety and Travis
makes two or three big plays to strain the defense. Ye,
he's not under an inordinate amount of pressure to be
the guy, I guess, is my point. I think that's
a good situation.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
It was in the scrimmage of the night. There was
one play in particular where you could just see that
the defense was stressed all the way out and here
comes Travis Hunter and no one knows how to cover him.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, I think it's a good compliment, good mix right
at that spot.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
John, I think a good point about Diami Brown. Obviously
a new edition as well. He's on a one year contract,
but he has been able to make some very explosive
plays previously with Washington. We've seen it in practice and
in the scrimmage as well. He's been benefiting from that
grant you. Dinski actually talked about it earlier this week
after the scrimmage about that dynamic play ability that Diami has.
Speaker 6 (21:26):
I think that's kind of what you saw a little
bit from him last year.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
He has that ability, you know.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
I think the improvement in some of the stuff that
he's shown in the run game and even with the
different routes that we've asked him to run will only
hopefully expand his.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Ability to create explosives. But last year, whether.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
It was running go balls or vertical routes or with
the ball in hand on screens in different plays, I
think that's something that's in his wheelhouse.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Right. We talked a lot about all these different weapons,
but Diami Brown's kind of benefiting from some of this already.
As you know, you're putting a ton of focus on
Brian Thomas Junior obviously, and Travis Huner somebody's gonna be open.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
I saw him in the playoffs, like you guys did,
when he made that run that basically matched his whole season,
So I was curious what he was going to be
when he showed up here. We know he's fast, but
he's also explosive, and there's a difference between the two.
Not everyone who's fast is explosive. He also changes direction
John on a dime, which is really impressive. He's moving
so fast and he can turn and build the other direction.
(22:22):
I think he's got legit ability to be a number two,
a ninety catch guy. I mean, I don't want to
Jimmy and Keenan, right, I mean both of those guys
were capable of putting up more than ninety catches in
a season. I don't know that they've had two guys
here that you'd be able to say that about since then.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
I'm with you, and I think we were looking for
the same thing. He hadn't played and been very consistent
in Washington. So when you show up, your first instinct,
you know, was this flash in the pan you're trying
to look for that. He's much more polished, much more
consistent practice in and practice out. Then maybe thought he
(23:00):
would be, and I had nothing to go on before that,
but you just wondered because he hadn't played a whole lot.
He's more veteran and more polished than I expected, and
I think he can be a consistent guy for him
and I kind of wonder when they signed him, Okay,
this might be a guy who explodes every three or
four games. I think between him BTJ, you've got two guys,
(23:24):
it wouldn't surprise you a week to week if you
had to receive. If either of those guys were over
ninety yards, was the consistent go to guy in the offense.
I think they both can handle it. What a difference
between last year and this year's receiving court.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Well, and you and I were both here in ninety
six when Keenan McCardell showed up, and I think he
had like fifty four catches was the most he had
had in his time with the Cleveland Browns, and no
one knew kai what he was going to be. And
it wasn't until you got him on the field and
he figured out how to work opposite Jimmy Well. The
new Jimmy is obviously Brian Thomas, and now Diami has
an opertunity to figure that out, and then you're mixing
(24:03):
Travis Hunter.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
I mean, it's it.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
This is the best receiving core they've had in more
than twenty years here, maybe twenty five.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Let's talk a little bit about Brian Thomaston. You're obviously
a spectacular rookie season, but now heading into a sophomore campaign,
getting to learn a new offense. Trevor Lawrence working with him,
spoke a little bit about them trying to get on
the same page with this new offense.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
Just the communication and talking. I think we've made some
big steps since since the spring, and you got our
thing too. We didn't get to play a full season together,
so you know, we've been trying to build that and
be just in lockstep and always know each other's thinking
and when we get those one on ones, making all
those plays, giving them opportunities, always going to be giving
them a chance to get his hand on the ball.
And there has been some frustration, I think from both
(24:45):
of us, and just offensively because there's been somewhere you know,
I might miss a throw, we might not make a
contested catch, you know, maybe they push coverage to them,
and there is days where it's a little frustrating, and
that's stuff you work through in practice. And we both
expect a lot of out of each other, and I
think that's the cool thing about our relationships. We expect
to make all those plays, so it's frustrating when you don't.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
And like I said, we.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
Just got to keep working in and keep he's such
a great player. Just keep giving them all the opportunities
and putting the ball somewhere where you can get it
and always giving him a chance.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
It's really important Ran Toma Junior.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
I probably had one of his best days in the scrimmage.
I would say he struggled other days, John, But I
think it's important to remember he didn't play a time
with Trevor because it was hurt. Last year, a lot
of his success was with mac Jones. So not only
is he learning that new offense, it's got to get
used to working with Trevor again.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Yeah, and I realized this runs counter to our I
want to see it right now world we live in.
I'll worry about BTJ if by week three there's not
a huge game. And frankly, like he was too good
last year too often to make me think that when
the lights go on, it's not going to be there.
(25:50):
And there have been some moments in practice this year
where you saw it of okay, well that's there's a
comeback ground. I'm thinking about, like, Okay, this is special stuff.
They'll get it. He's too good and this coaching staff
knows to get him the ball. The offense is going
to be too good. I think BTJ will be fine,
(26:11):
and I think they're chemistry. Maybe not week one, but
by by week fear for it. The terror's not dumb.
He's gonna throw BTJ a the ball.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
It looks it looks so easy for BTJ last year,
and maybe for some reason it was. But there's always
some semblance of a learning curve when you get here,
and I think maybe he feels the pressure or maybe
he's putting the pressure on himself to take that next
step and rise to the elite level, the Justin Jefferson,
the Jamar Chase level. It'll be that kind of a player,
(26:39):
which I think everyone in this room thinks he's capable
of being. And now you're talking about adding that because
we were told he's a top competitor. John to the
equation of new coach. This quarterback. I just I think
when the lights go on, there.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Are flickered once and that's been in the scrimmage. He
has best day. That's what he is, right, And I
think some of it as well.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Uh, if anyone's been a practice and seeing any of this,
I think some of it's frustrating on his own part
cause he expects himself to be right ten for ten
a hundred percent every single catch, every opportunity. So some
of that is, you know, him being competitive. So I
don't wanna make it sound like he looks terrible at
practice or anything like that, but obviously BTJ is very special.
I'm looking forward to his sophomore season. Let's talk a
(27:22):
little bit about rounding out this room. I think Parker
Washington's obviously got that four spot locked up. But who's
the fifth receiver on this team?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
John Who? Well, Parker's looked really really good, Uh, better
than I thought he would, and he he gets more
veteran each year, which you're supposed to be, and everybody
he does intriguing obviously is cephas h h. He for
people who haven't really followed it closely, every practice that
makes a big play, ye yeah, Uh, he feels to
me like a guy who I don't know how consistently
(27:55):
he would be if he had to start and play
every game, because I don't know that once defenses would
start to focus on him, I don't know that he
would have the answers yet these other guys do, which
I'm not knocking. He's a first year guy, but I
think if you put him in there as the fourth
or fifth guy, as an optionary once in a while,
he can beat you deep if you're not paying attention
(28:16):
to him every practice. And this is practice eleven. I've
probably written about him in seven practices because he's had
some big play so there's there's some capability there. He's raw,
but it's hard to imagine them not keeping that around
and trying to figure ou how to use it.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Well, you know what I'm gonna say, can you play
on special teams?
Speaker 3 (28:35):
There we go, right?
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I mean, if he can, then they're looking for a
Tim Jones kind of player.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
You're not sure Joshua is that, but I think he's
gonna be around here, but go ahead, right.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Well, but just because of his explosiveness, and I had
heard the practice that I missed, I heard that he
made a big play and went, Okay, well we saw
a big place from him last year, but you just
mentioned the consistency you write about him time and time
and time again. So what I'm going to be looking
for from him on Saturday night against the Steelers and
against the Saints and against the Dolphins is can you
learn to contribute on special teams? I just mentioned the
(29:06):
name Tim Jones, who was a long time wide receiver here,
no plays of you can even remember in the offense,
but Mandity Mack plays on special teams, and they're looking
to find that guy Parker as you mentioned it for well,
he's the return guy, but you need that wide receiver
who's got the speed and the mentality of going down
and making plays when special teams cover the ball.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
It'll be an interesting spot to play out as the
rest of the preseason goes along. So says here, we
have one more break in Jags Am, but coming up,
we're going to tell you all about the throwbacks and
which games you're gonna see him in this year. Jags fans,
if you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home, check
out zipchare dot com abows all the customizable options. Zipchair
is furniture for fans. Have a special announcement here on
(29:52):
jags Am. Obviously, last year we got the throwbacks everyone
desperately wanted back in our lives, and now we have
a special announcement about four new games. So check out
the commercial for the throwbacks this year.
Speaker 7 (30:05):
Hold it there, Cam, Is that what you're having for breakfast?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Well?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Yeah, it's what I have every morning.
Speaker 7 (30:11):
Wait, don't you want something more out of your breakfast,
something with a little more kick? Sure, here, try this.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Prowler puffs.
Speaker 7 (30:23):
Go ahead, give it a taste.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Whoa, I feel so nostalgic.
Speaker 7 (30:32):
Wellcat, Prowler Puffs now have four times the nostalgia in
every bite.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Whoa four times?
Speaker 7 (30:40):
Go ahead, give it another taste.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
He's got some new head.
Speaker 8 (30:45):
Fuck, cut down, sack, shuffle your feet, it's gonna get back.
Put it a town many give me cut fuck, cuck down,
whatck down the dock?
Speaker 7 (30:58):
We're going again on.
Speaker 8 (31:00):
Baby's gonna get any more?
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Man, I can't wait for chick off.
Speaker 7 (31:14):
Go get them Cam, get ready for game day the
only way with Prowler Puffs. They're bold, they're crunchy, they're back.
Collect all four flavors today. Prowler puffs taste the legacy
Prowler Puffs are not an actual serreial. Side effects may
include spontaneous nostalgia, excessive team pryme, and uncontrollable do vol Jacks.
Will be available while supplies last. Non Jaguars Fanship consulted
(31:35):
doctor before consuming Prowler puffs off for not bound Indianapolis
used it, and especially not Nashville. He's at Jaguars dot
com slash tickets for more details.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Sadly, Cam didn't save us any Prowler puffs, but we
do the boxes and we're happy to announce that there
are going to be four throwback games this year. Gonna
Star out and Week three against the Texans, Monday Night
football against the Chiefs, the Colts matchup I believe, Week fourteen,
and then the final game of the season.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Against the Titans.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
Four times for fun, guys.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I love them. It's like a right back cool stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
We're back in time.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
So happy and thanks to Cam, little partising and commercial,
great kid, great sense of humor, great care. I think
fans uh embraced that. I think it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Definitely not born in ninety I don't even think no,
but we appreciate the throwback nature of it. Anyway, we
will be back with you on jag xam tomorrow live
outside from training camp, so join us then as we'll
preview a little bit of that preseason matchup against the Steelers.
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