With the 2025 regular season upon us, let’s take a closer look at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie class, examining what kind of roles this group will have in their first years.
“Obviously, with the rookie class, it’s always an interesting part here in the early portion of the season to see how they’re going to be involved on the grass, and I think the fact that we got guys who are built to the right stuff,” GM James Gladstone said.
“Obviously, feeling it out for the first time, they’ve made their dent and they’ve all earned roles that are going to be meaningful to us over the course of the season.”
WR/CB Travis Hunter
Both Tony Khan and James Gladstone have mentioned or alluded to Hunter’s week-to-week workload this season, varying depending on what the matchup and in-game situations dictate. And as the Jaguars have done, they’ll remain fluid with his usage, quick to adjust based on what the team feels is best.
Now, my best guess is that Hunter is a regular contributor at wide receiver, while on defense, he sees his snaps coming during more obvious passing situations. That will reduce some of the wear and tear by not being on the field for many running downs and also allow Hunter’s elite ball skills to be on display.
S Caleb Ransaw
Ransaw was placed on season-ending IR with a foot injury.
OL Wyatt Milum
Milum missed Monday’s practice as he is still sidelined with a lower-body injury. However, upon his return, he provides the Jaguars with added depth at guard, and perhaps even tackle, after spending his college career there.
If we were building out the depth chart, Milum is probably the second option off the bench right now, after Chuma Edoga. The Jaguars cross-trained Milum this summer to be able to line up on both the right and left sides.
RB Bhayshul Tuten
Tuten will see playing time as a rookie, but the question is, how much?
Based on how playing time shook out over the summer, Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby will still be leading the way at running back, but the Jaguars will find opportunities to get Tuten and his 4.32 speed involved. I would guess that his role, at least initially, is a bit smaller.
LB Jack Kiser
In Anthony Campanile’s 4-3 defense, Kiser will fill one of the backup linebacker roles. However, where we will be seeing a lot of him is on special teams and across multiple phases. Kiser left Notre Dame with nearly 1,000 career special teams snaps.
LB Jalen McLeod
McLeod is starting the season in IR, but has been designated to return. With both the linebacker and pass rusher rooms being quite crowded, upon McLeod’s return, I could see this being more of a developmental year for him with minimal playing time.
S Rayuan Lane
Lane is going to step in at safety and fill Daniel Thomas’ previous role of being a core special teams contributor. From the sounds of it, Lane wasn’t a major part of the competition at safety for playing time this summer, but like Kiser, he will contribute across numerous special teams phases.
C Jonah Monheim
Monheim will be the backup center for the Jaguars behind Robert Hainsey. In part, what gave the Jaguars the confidence to trade Luke Fortner for Khalen Saunders was the play and growth of Monheim this summer.
RB LeQuint Allen
As Liam Coen said, getting four running backs regular snaps isn’t an easy task. Even asking four running backs to suit up on Sundays won’t be easy with teams able to just have 48 players active. Allen can help out in the passing game, whether that be as a pass-catcher or pass-blocker, but my early guess is that more often than not, he is inactive on Sundays.
DE BJ Green and Danny Striggow
There may be some snaps on defense here and there, but getting five, let alone six, defensive ends rotational snaps each week isn’t easy–there just aren’t enough snaps to go around.
So, at a position that features Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, along with having Dawuane Smoot and Emmanuel Ogbah as veteran presences, I don’t know that we see a lot of Green and Striggow on defense this season. Their contributions will have to come on teams. And like running back, having six defensive ends active on Sundays may not be an easy task either.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars’ 2025 rookie draft class outlook: Roles and expectations
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
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