Travon Walker and Other Winners From Jacksonville Jaguars Rookie Minicamp
The Jacksonville Jaguars still have a long way to go to form their roster and improve their team ahead of their Week 1 opener against the Washington Commanders, but this week’s rookie minicamp is a good start.
For the public, we see Doug Pederson leading the Jaguars in the practice field for the first time, while also looking at the latest crop of new brands. Jaguars and No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker. It’s just a non-contact practice with shorts and helmets, but it’s an important first step for the rookie class.
“We’re trying to really also see what these guys can do,” Pederson said Friday before the first practice.
“We want to challenge them in the classroom and then obviously take them to the field of practice and let them show their talent and let them play fast, protect each other there, just learn how we do it. the things here. [Those] are all the things I am looking for in the next few days. ”
With rookie minicamp today, let’s see who we can see as winners from the weekend. Of course this is within the context of a rookie camp, designed for players to look good, but there were still a number of Jaguars coming out over the weekend with more light.
Travon Walker
From his teammates running his physical equipment to his quick learning of the outside linebacker position while working one-on-one with outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey, Travon Walker was the star of the rookie minicamp show. This is what is expected of any No. 1 overall choice considered the controlled practice setting, but Walker examined each box during his early practices based on its non-mundane size, frame, and fluidity alone.
Clearly Walker needs to prove that he can put on the tools and make games when the pads come. His real tests come later in training camp and in the preseason, as well as obviously in the regular season. However, Walker’s flashes of athletic agility were enough to help him get a lot of fans this weekend.
Tony Gilbert
Like Walker, Jaguars rookies Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma won’t face real tests until the pads come on and the tempo and speed go up. However, first and third round linebackers are unlikely to miss practice on Friday and Saturday. Looking at the two working together on the field, it’s hard not to think that inside linebackers coach Tony Gilbert is one of the organization’s most winning winners the entire offseason.
Lloyd and Muma looked at the part in terms of mobility skills and communication ability this week. When the two are able to share the field together every Sunday, they will give the Jaguars a pair of versatile and athletic linebackers who can perform a variety of roles. Watching the two fly around this weekend reinforces this fact and the improvement in Gilbert’s group position that continues.
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Andrew Mevis
Only a few undrafted free agents have a better chance of making the roster this year than Iowa State’s Andrew Mevis. The Jaguars released kicker Matthew Wright earlier this week, bringing the kicker competition to just Mevis and veteran kicker Ryan Santoso. And so far, Mevis has already answered the bell, making his kicks on Saturday in front of owner Shad Khan, general manager Trent Baalke, and Pederson.
“[We] We just want to see consistency in what we’re asked to do in that position, ”Pederson said Friday.“ We know we need to move forward and improve there and that’s a big part of wins and losses and whether to start or three points. or whatever it is. It’s good for the two guys who are now going on to make that competition.
It’s hard to call Santoso or Mevis a favorite today, but Mevis did nothing over the weekend to hurt him after Wright’s release.
Trent Baalke
Trent Baalke got a lot of criticism locally and nationally when he took Travon Walker to Aidan Hutchinson at No. 1 in total. And even if there’s no reason for Baalke or the Jaguars to get a lap win, they can at least comfort everyone who sees Walker this weekend what they have for the entire draft process. .
Baalke’s state of work is improving more dependent on his overall body of work than the chosen Walker alone, but Walker stands in a positive way this weekend. Considering many seem to have come to the polls, that’s probably good news for Baalke.
Willie Johnson
The lone tryout player to sign on the active roster to date, former Marshall wide receiver and returning man Willie Johnson IV seems to have secured a spot in training camp. It’s hard for him to crack the 53-man roster because of his size and position numbers, but Johnson is impressive enough this weekend to guarantee a long look, a something not all tryout players can say.
Sean Davis
It remains to be seen whether this will pay off for Sean Davis or not, but few players have made more impactful games this week than the 2016 second-round pick. The former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and top-60 draft pick intercepted EJ Perry on Friday and Saturday and stood among a crowded group of defensive backs. He’s not a younger player so it’s not clear if his performance will help his cause, but he stands.
Doug Pederson
Just comparing what we saw from Doug Pederson to how we saw Urban Meyer perform at the rookie minicamp last year, there is a clear and distinct difference. Meyer’s need is as detailed or consistent with practice as Pederson’s last week. Pederson moved from drill to drill and position group to position group with a watchful eye but also with an open ear, doing his fair share of delegating and allowing his staff to do their job. . It’s not like a Meyer practice.
“Coach, we’re just kidding, but you can tell he’s serious. He’s about getting better,” Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd said Saturday.
“He’s also a coach of players like we chop it, like I said, we play. About his work and he’s serious .. about everybody get better and understand what to do .. as long as we’re the same, feel I think he’s one of those coaches who’s just worried about how we can be the best team. ”
