Projecting the Jaguars 53-man roster before training camp

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars report to training camp in less than a month and building the roster to help the team get back on track after a forgettable finish is priority No. 1. The News4JAX sports takes an early shot at projecting the 53-man roster.

Quarterback

JSC: Keeping a third QB threw my whole roster construction out of whack but I think there is a real chance the Jaguars keep three. It would be a tough choice if I had to get rid of one of them. I’d probably lean towards keeping Mac over CJ but that is a thin line. I just believe the odds of being able to stash Mac on the practice squad aren’t good. You might be able to sneak CJ on there.

JB: Difficult choice here in keeping two or three. I squeezed Beathard off in favor of Jones because I think the former first-rounder has more upside.

Running back

JSC: Running back is pretty straightforward. Barring injury, these will be the four. It would take a huge effort from Lorenzo Lingard or Jalen Jackson to unseat one of these four to make the roster. Robinson is semi-locked in as a kickoff returner so that removes any guesswork around him.

JB: Considered three backs here but the new kickoff rule seems to favor a draft pick like Robinson making the roster as a returner. Bigsby needs to be much better than he was as a rookie.

Receiver

JSC: Last season, the Jaguars kept seven wide receivers. I think the numbers game will prevent that from happening this year. That last spot was a tough choice between Cooks, Tim Jones, Brevin Easton, and Joshua Cephus. Jones has always kept an advantage because of his special teams ability. I leaned toward Elijah Cooks in this situation because of his upside as a receiver but wouldn’t be surprised if it was Tim Jones instead. Both Easton and Cephus will be prime practice squad candidates.

JB: Tough decisions here. Washington looked really good in minicamp and is safer this year than he was last season. Duvernay, a free agent, takes the Jamal Agnew role as a part-time receiver and a full-time return specialist. I kept Jones over Cooks due to his special teams acumen, but could easily see Jacksonville electing to keep seven receivers. If they keep seven, Cooks will be the seventh.

Tight end

JSC: Easy choice here. Those are the top three. Keeping a fourth is a possibility but with squeezes in the trenches on OL and DL, I went with the three no-brainers.

JB: No surprise here. Maybe Josh Pederson sneaks on if they keep four at the position, but that’s unlikely.

Offensive linemen

JSC: The top five are simple enough but the depth keepers get tough. Walker Little is a lock. Beyond him is up in the air. I would lean that Javon Foster is a near lock. With two backup tackles locked in, it’s interior the rest of the way. With Luke Fortner being the only other true center on the roster I locked him in. That left Tyler Shatley, Cooper Hodges and Steven Jones all fighting for one spot. I went with “Big Grizz,” Jones. I think the undrafted free agent has a real chance to make this team. I wanted to find a way to sneak Hodges on the roster but maybe practice squad is a way to keep him around.

JB: A very tough call here. Little is in the final year of his contract. Could they flip him at some point before the season to clear the way for a guy like fourth-rounder Foster? Could Robinson (above) be a potential casualty in favor of Little? Moving on from Robinson would save close to $18 million and lead to just $4.6 million in dead cap money. Hodges was my final guy on the line. He’s a seventh-rounder from a year ago who missed his rookie season due to a knee injury. But the Jaguars stashed him on the injured list so they like what they’ve seen.

Defensive linemen

JSC: Some tough cuts here. Adam Gotsis has been with the Jaguars for a while now and he has been a solid contributor. But I opted to keep Lacy and Gipson over him. I also wanted to sneak DJ Coleman onto the roster here for edge depth because I think he has a real chance to make the team but I just couldn’t find a way to do it.

JB: This group bulked up in the offseason. Allen, Gipson and Walker would be linebackers in the old 3-4 defense, but Ryan Nielsen employs a 4-3 so they’re defensive ends in this scheme. Lacy and Ledbetter were my final two in this group. That left veteran Gotsis (below) out of my final 53, just like Jamal’s.

Linebacker

JSC: With the new kickoff rules, I think linebacker will be a position where teams carry an extra body or two for special teams. With that in mind, it made the decision of keeping Andrew Parker Jr. on the roster that much easier. The Jaguars made him one of the highest-paid UDFAs in the league. He is an uber-talented athlete and has a great chance to make the roster. I also stacked in Ventrell Miller and Yasir Abdullah. The pair is firmly in the middle of a battle for that third linebacker job.

JB: Outside of Oluokun and Lloyd, this is a lean group. Unprovens Abdullah and Miller are vying for a starting spot. Muma has been underwhelming and unable to crack the lineup. Maybe this crew improves as a whole under Nielsen.

Defensive backs

JSC: Safety was somewhat simple but I did have second thoughts as I got squeezed at other positions. Cornerback on the other hand was a real challenge. With three players as firm locks (Campbell, Jones, and Darby) that only left me with two spots to work with between Prince, Buster Brown and Braswell. I opted to leave Brown as the odd man out, but I’m not happy about it. I’d like to find a way to get him on the roster. Brown is established and made plays for the Jaguars last year but Braswell can give time in the slot and the coaching staff spoke highly of him during the offseason. Prince is a rookie draft pick and it is always a tough sell this time of year to cut the cord on a recent draft pick. Right now, I lean Prince but he will have to show up and show out to get a spot over Brown.

JB: A lot of variability in this crew. Safeties should be close to a lock, but at corner, there are quite a few questions. I think the rookie Jones (above) could be a Day 1 starter on the outside. I could see veteran Tre Flowers making the team because he played for Nielsen in Atlanta. I hated leaving off corner Gregory Junior, but he was one of my last two corners out. Prince likely won’t play a ton, and both Erick Hallett and Christian Braswell have been in the system longer, but Jacksonville won’t cut the rookie.

Specialists

JSC: Rolling with the rookie. Enough said. Cam Little is the guy at kicker.

JB: About the only question is will Little beat out Riley Patterson for the kicking job? I think he will.