The Jaguars have some decisions to make.
Jacksonville put the finishing touches on preseason on Friday night, routing the Falcons 31-0 in the finale to cap an unbeaten preseason. Next up comes the hard part for coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke — filling out the roster.
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There are no questions on the big names.
Trevor Lawrence looked the best he has in the preseason against the Falcons, tossing a pair of touchdowns to Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram. The ground game was razor sharp as the offensive line played together in full for the first time. But the roster construction is far from complete. Jacksonville has a handful of roster choices to make as cut day arrives. Teams have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. to get their rosters from 90 down to 53.
“Well, I think we’re on track. I don’t think that we’re a finished product,” Pederson said. “We’re still working on some things in all three phases, but it was a good preseason. It was tough. It was physical on them. I thought they handled it extremely well. It showed obviously in their play these three games, but now quite honestly, it doesn’t matter, right? We have to get ready for Miami.”
Jacksonville opens the season Sept. 8 at the Dolphins as it tries to get things back on track after a forgettable finish in 2023. The Jaguars finished 3-0 in the preseason, jumped out to an 8-3 start and then imploded for a 9-8 finish that resulted in a playoff miss. Camp and preseason have helped try and restore some of the imbalances that plagued the Jaguars last year. Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen’s implementation has been well received, despite the team’s projected starters still not getting all on the field together in the preseason.
The result against the Falcons — or the Chiefs and Buccaneers before them — was less about stats and the win column. Pederson said that he just wanted to see improvement.
“I don’t look at it as far as ‘us versus them’ that way. I look at it as just us, right? Our execution, are we executing? Are we targeting the right way, especially in the offensive line? Are we fitting gaps in the defense? Are we in the right coverage, leverage, things like that,” Pederson said.
“We’re still working on things, and at the end of the day when the ball is snapped, there’s a man over you, and you’ve got to do your best to win that matchup. But, it’s more about assignment football, and when your starters don’t play a ton, games like this matter because you want them to feel like they came away feeling good about themselves, and execution was good.”
The Jaguars have checked most of the boxes thus far, though. The big question has centered around Lawrence and if he can take the next step in what has been a hot and cold start to his NFL career. It’s early, but Lawrence has looked better and the competition for the backup spot behind Lawrence feels more stable with the production of Mac Jones.
Who will call plays when the season kicks off at Miami, Pederson or oft-maligned offensive coordinator Press Taylor?
“Yeah, we’ve got a couple weeks,” Pederson said. “We’ll discuss that, and go from there.”
The challenges will come over the next few days as Baalke and Pederson comb the roster and tidy things up. The bulk of the Jaguars are locked in, but there are several notable position groups that are tight. The offensive line is one that could see a shakeup or two. The defensive line is another that could have a player or two make the rotation that squeezes out another position group.
Jones was 38 of 52 passing for 421 yards and three touchdowns in the preseason, including a 13-yard scoring pass to Elijah Cooks on Friday night. Lawrence went 11 of 14 for 134 yards and three touchdowns in parts of two preseason games, including the two scoring passes to Engram against the Falcons. The ground game chewed up 208 yards on 44 carries against the Falcons, with Tank Bigsby (eight carries, 40 yards) and Travis Etienne (seven carries, 46 yards)
Atlanta didn’t roll out any of its projected starters, so a 31-0 blowout needs to be viewed in that lens. But Jacksonville did get Lawrence quite a few reps with his starting offensive line for the first time in the preseason, a significant step after the struggles that group endured last year.
“I feel good. I thought it was a good night, very clean. Obviously, we haven’t done any prep for Miami yet. We just got out of the training camp, so that’s its own thing,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got to get prepared for them and really dive into their scheme and get to work on prepping for that game, so that’s a different thing. But as far as just our team, our offense, where we’re at, I think we’re in a great spot. But you’ve got to continue to get better, even when camp’s over. You’ve got to keep getting better every week, so that’s the challenge for us.”