The Jacksonville Jaguars are making their way through the early part of their training camp schedule. They completed eight of their 20 preseason practices and are moving toward their first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 15.
The team completed its annual training camp teal and white game, marking the end of another week of practice.
They’ll return to the field for practice on Aug. 9 and Aug. 11 before leaving for New Orleans to conduct their first joint practice of the preseason.
We took a look at a few observations from Week 2 of training camp for the Jacksonville Jaguars:
Jaguars’ Anton Harrison gets audition at left tackle
The biggest observation from last week was Anton Harrison’s switch to left tackle.
Left tackle Cole Van Lanen started training camp on the Physically Unable to Participate list, opening the door for the Jaguars to try different players at his position.
They initially turned to Walker Little, but Harrison has gotten several reps at left tackle over the last week. He spoke about the change with reporters on Aug. 6.
“It’s like riding a bike getting back over there,” said Harrison who spent seven consecutive practices at the position. “It’s what I did in college so getting back to doing it every day, it’s not really a big change.”
The thought with the last regime was Harrison was the left tackle of the future, but it never came to fruition in his first few seasons in the NFL. Under the new regime, the Jaguars re-signed Van Lanen last season and picked up Harrison’s fifth-year option in April.
Now it appears that the position will be his to lose as the team heads into their first joint practice session of the preseason.
“It’s part of what we’ve done, moving those guys around and seeing what sticks,” head coach Liam Coen said of Harrison. “And if that ends up sticking, hopefully that’s a good thing for us.”
One thing is for sure, Harrison has earned the respect of his peers on both sides of the ball.
“Man, Ton, he’s athletic. He’s big, strong,” defensive end Travon Walker said. “That’s what I really feel like sets Anton aside. He can be moved around as well. Like I said, he’s an athlete, so I feel like he comes from a basketball background. A lot of guys that come from that background can move well.”
Jaguars’ secondary steps up after rough summer
During Day 7 of training camp, Jarrian Jones had a play that was so good Coen jogged across the football field to give him props.
Jones was matched up against rookie pass catcher C.J. Williams and was initially beat down the sideline for what looked like a big gain. But the fourth-year defensive back hustled back into the play and swatted the ball out of Williams’ hands.
Coen, who was standing a few yards behind the offensive line on the left side of the field, originally thought he was going to have the chance to celebrate a big play by the offense. But as Jones swiped down and jarred the ball free, Coen’s joy for the offense turned to respect for a solid defensive play, making his way across the field to high-five with Jones.
Jacksonville’s secondary has responded well after the offense looked a step ahead for most of the summer. They were a step behind as the pads came on in practice No. 5, veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis even admitted it to reporters after the practice.
“It felt like we were overthinking. We were overthinking about it,” he said. “Just some of the detailed things that we did over the last few days kind of slipped.”
They were better in the days that followed with Antonio Johnson, Eric Murray and Jones snagging interceptions. Even the passes they didn’t intercept, they got hands on as second-year player Jabbar Muhammad swatted away a pass intended for Brian Thomas Jr.
As camp continues, expect for the defense to continue building on the foundation laid in these early practices. The entire defensive back group spent extra time on the field working after practice after Day 7 of camp. It’s the type of commitment that’s going to show up by the time the team gets to the season.
“I believe in being honest and even what anybody perceives as a great day isn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said. “You’ve got to tell the truth and you’ve got to see around corners and see what the problems lying ahead are.”
Linebacker battle heats up between Ventrell Miller, Branson Combs
One of the biggest questions of training camp is who’ll man the linebacker position next to Foye Oluokun? After Devin Lloyd signed with the Carolina Panthers in free agency, there’s a starting spot open on the defense.
Ventrell Miller was the heavy favorite as the team returned from summer break, but Branson Combs has put together a strong campaign through the first two weeks of practice.
He had an interception on the goal line in the early days of camp where he snagged a pass and returned it all the way to the other end zone, mirroring the play by Lloyd against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night football. He also had a pass deflection to stop a Trevor Lawrence touchdown pass, showing some versatility and ball skills.
But Miller, not to be outdone, punched out the football and recovered it during an 11-on-11 period. It looked like the work players do in individual drills, showing instant application from position group work to team periods.
In our initial depth chart projection, we took the easy way out by placing both as starters separated by an “or” designation, which the team has used in the past.
However, the job is Miller’s until it’s not. It’ll be interesting to see over the next few weeks.
BJ Green gets reps with starters as Josh Hines-Allen rests
The Jaguars needed more from their pass rushers last season. They were among the worst teams in the NFL in sacks, which is a stark contrast to their run defense as they were ranked as the best in that department.
A healthy Travon Walker will certainly help, but another big boost will likely come from the ascension of second-year undrafted free agent BJ Green. He’s off to a good start in his second training camp and he only bolstered that in the intersquad scrimmage.
Green was the most impressive player, absolutely living in the backfield whether it was a pass or run. It’s something that has continued to appear throughout the early stages of camp.
Green exploded into the backfield during a run, scoring a quick tackle for a loss against Ameer Abdullah. Then he sped off the edge and got a would-be sack as he blew past the reserve lineman in front of him.
Green had the majority of edge rusher reps with the first team as Josh Hines-Allen watched from the sideline. In fact, Hines-Allen has missed several team periods in recent days. Coen said it’s veteran’s rest days for the eighth-year pass rusher, which tracks as he’s participated in individual drills each day of camp.
It’s an opportunity that wouldn’t typically be available, and Green has taken full advantage of the extra reps. He looks right at home with the starters and could be in for a big year for the Jaguars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars training camp battles to watch: Ventrell Miller vs Branson Combs
Reporting by Juston Lewis, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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By Juston Lewis, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
