Whether they are someone in the spotlight, or just a guy who is a long shot for even the practice squad, I’m sure to take a look at each individual player. On a roster as young as this and with this much competition, you just never know who will start turning heads in OTAs, training camp and preseason games.

It’s no secret. The Jags running game last year was flat out embarrassing. Between the Maurice Jones-Drew holdout, to his season ending injury, to the stable of spare part running backs the Jaguars fielded last year, the Jaguars running game was just another thing that went wrong in 2012. Fortunately, it looks as if we’ve gotten some new pieces and I am looking very much forward to seeing exactly what the backfield will look like come September.

So just how did Jacksonville improve the position? It started with the signing of free agent Justin Forsett back in March. It only got better, when in April, Caldwell drafted one of the most explosive players from college football in Denard Robinson and it was decided that running back would give him (Robinson) the best opportunity to make a difference come game time.

Before we continue I have to note (even though it’s been noted plenty in the last week) that FB/RB/Special Teams Ace, Montell Owens was released last week in order to make room for center Dan Gerberry. This move came as a shock to most. It wasn’t necessarily shocking to me seeing as how the Jaguars want to get younger and faster, but it was a bit upsetting. Owens is a blue collar player who stepped up and did everything he could to help the team. It’s easy to do that…when you’re on a winning team. Most of the time Owens was not on a winning team, yet he always put it on the line, and he made two pro bowls as a special teamer on the way. Owens had a visit with Buffalo yesterday, and I wish him nothing but the best.

We continue our position battles series today, taking a look at the running backs:

• Maurice Jones-Drew: After coming off of a record campaign in 2011, claiming the league’s rushing title, Jones-Drew faced a tumultous offseason in 2012 that included a hold out, but that’s neither here nor there. A foot injury claimed his season in week 6 and that was it.  I’m focused on Jones-Drew’s health this year. Not only does he have to be healthy, but he has to return to 2011 form. Jones-Drew has been the lone threat, the lone weapon for this team for years. One of the last of the workhorse backs, a healthy Jones-Drew returning to home run threat form would certainly be advantageous to young players in a new system, and it would definitely help take some of the load off of Gabbert or Henne’s shoulders.
  

  Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

• Justin Forsett: Forsett was the second free agent signed after free agency opened on March 12. Forsett played in Houston last year backing up Arian Foster, but before coming to Houston he played in Seattle. Forsett has always been a solid complimentary back, and he has shown that he would be able to handle the job if the primary back goes down. One of the things that was so terrible about last year (one of the many, many things) was seeing just how much depth this team DID NOT HAVE. Forsett provides quality depth at the position.
• Denard Robinson: Selected in the 5th round of the 2013 draft, the Jaguars selected QB/WR/RB/KR Denard Robinson. Everyone who watches college football, and especially if you’re a Michigan fan, can see just how special of an athlete Robinson is. Hands down one of the biggest playmakers in college football, Robinson did have to make a position switch upon arriving to the pros. Wanting to contribute, and not being selfish whatsoever and understanding he’d be a better fit somewhere else on the football field, Robinson made the switch to wide receiver. Bradley will play him at running back which I feel will give him the best opportunity to benefit the team. I would not be one bit surprised though to see him get involved in the passing and return game.
• Jonathan Grimes: A late season addition in 2012 due to the walking wounded at what seemed like practically every position, Grimes came into the league as an UDFA with Houston last year. He’s spent time with Houston, the New York Jets, Houston again, and finally Jacksonville. Grimes is young, which is probably the only reason he’s stuck around this long, and he will be fighting for a back up spot.
• Jordan Todman: Todman was a player I was interested in as a late round flier in the 2011 draft. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 6th round. Todman hails from UCONN, having been 2010 Big East Offensive Player of the Year before forgoing his senior season and entering the 2011 draft. Since then he has bounced around the league. The Jaguars found him on Minnesota’s practice squad and signed him in late November of last year. Once again, Todman is a young player who accomplished a lot a UCONN, but will be hard pressed to find a spot on the roster.
• De’Leon Eskridge: Eskridge came to the rookie mini-camp as a workout guy and was signed shortly after. At San Jose State last year, Eskridge had 207 carries for 1,025 yards and 11 TDs. He was selected All WAC Second Team by the coaches, but due to a bad 40 time, Eskridge fell out of favor and went undrafted. Lucky for Eskridge, he came to the right camp. He worked hard and obviously showed enough to get a contract. He’ll be competing with for a backup spot, and would be a good candidate for the practice squad.
• Lonnie Pryor, FB: Pryor is one of those UDFAs that has a real shot. With Greg Jones going to Houston and with the recent release of Montell Owens, Pryor is a prime candidate to step up and be the lead blocker for Maurice Jones-Drew. He was a part of a FSU rushing offense that scored 40, yes 40 rushing touchdowns in 2012 and averaged 205 rushing yards a game. Pryor is an outstanding blocker, and he can also be a factor running the ball, tallying 47 carries for 376 yards and 8 scores last season.
• Will Ta’ufo’ou, FB: Ta’ufo’ou came into the league as an UDFA in 2009 with the Chicago Bears. He was with the Bears until 2011. Afterwards, he was signed to Cleveland’s practice squad, but was released in November of 2011. He was signed by the Jaguars in July of last year. Since then he’s been on both the Jaguars’ practice squad and active roster. He appeared in six games last year for Jacksonville. He will be Pryor’s main competition for the fullback position, but Pryor still has much more upside.

With so much talk about how Gabbert, Henne, Marcedes Lewis, Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon will respond to Jedd Fisch’s offense, you really don’t hear very much about what kind of role the running back will play. We have a superstar in Maurice Jones-Drew, who if healthy, should be one of the top rushing performers in the league again. Forsett and Robinson should be the back ups with Robinson getting involved in more ways than one (ie. wide receiver, kick returner, etc.). Pryor should be the starting fullback barring a terrible camp.

I highly doubt we’ll carry more than 4 backs (3RBs,1FB), so Todman and Grimes would have to be absolutely lights out in order to earn a roster spot. You just never know on a roster like this though. Either one could flash enough at camp to convince Bradley to go heavier at RB than originally intended which of course if the great thing about competition.

-David R. Johns

The overall protection for both Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne was nothing short of down right miserable in 2012. Both were sacked 20+ times. Is that a direct result of bad play from the blindside protectors? Look. There could be several reasons why a QB is sacked. Maybe the quarterback doesn’t go through his reads fast enough. Maybe the receivers are having a difficult time getting off press coverage. Besides these mishaps, having dependable tackles at both the left and right spots, despite what may go wrong between the QBs and WRs, never ever hurts and that’s exactly what the Jaguars addressed with their number 2 overall pick in the 2013 draft.

• OT Luke Joeckel: With the second pick in the 2013 draft, the Jaguars selected OT Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M. I was and still am thrilled with this pick. The Jags brass stuck with their board and got their highest rated player. It’s recently come out that analytics had something to do with the pick, something about how Gabbert played better with a few extra tenths of a second. That’s good and all, and I am a fan of using numbers to predict future success, but even without the numbers this pick was a no brainer. Joeckel was the most NFL ready player in this draft class. I’m not taking anything away from Eric Fisher, but when comparing the two, they were so close in just about all categories except for college experience. There’s a big difference between playing at Central Michigan than there is playing at Texas A&M. Some people still nag and complain that he’s playing right tackle. I tell those people to jump off the Matthews Bridge. Joeckel will be a 10-12 year starter and an eventual pro-bowler. Is it too early to say that?
• OT Eugene Monroe:I don’t care what anyone says, Monroe is a fantastic left tackle. This is another reason I liked the Joeckel pick so much.  It automatically created a positive situation for whoever plays quarterback for this team in 2013, now having bookend tackles. Monroe has been a lone bright spot for the Jaguars as he graded out as a top 10 offensive lineman in 2012 which is just flat out crazy considering how bad this team was last year. He’s one of the best picks from the dreaded 2009 draft class, and I really, really hope we can re-sign him. If not – thankfully we drafted Luke Joeckel. Monroe and Joeckel should form a brick wall on the left and right sides. Having two talented tackles like Monroe and Joeckel is never, ever, ever, ever a problem.
  

  Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

• OT Cameron Bradfield: Cameron Bradfield came to the team as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2011. Since then he has gone from developing rookie, to gameday swing tackle, to starting right tackle. No, he did not play very well last year. He was thrown into a less than ideal situation in 2012. Who knew Eben Britton was going to be that bad? Well…that may not be the right question to ask. What I’m getting at is that Bradfield has position flexibility, actual NFL game experience and is still relatively young. As it stands he is the leading candidate to once again be the gameday swing tackle, but it won’t be easy. After drafting Joeckel, Caldwell brought in 3 UDFA offensive tackles and I’m sure every single one of these young men are gunning for Bradfield’s job.
• OT R.J. Dill: Dill was signed after the 2013 draft as a collegiate free agent. He has good size for the position at 6’6 316 lbs..He played at Rutgers last year, but before that he played 3 years at Maryland. He transferred to Rutgers after getting his degree from Maryland in order to get into a graduate program that Rutgers did not offer. Really, in all honesty, he just wanted to go to a somewhat competitive program. He can play left or right tackle.
• OT Jeff Nady: Yet another UDFA offensive tackle. I don’t know if anyone actually watched rounds 4-7 of the draft, but I did. Come the 7th round the guys on NFL network began trying to spitball players who would be worth taking, and Mike Mayock banged the table for Jeff Nady of Nevada. Nady was selected to the 2012 All-Mountain West First Team. He has the physical tools to work with, but will have to improve strength and technique. He will definitely benefit from an NFL coaching staff and weight room.
• OT Roderick Tomlin: The third UDFA offensive tackle Caldwell brought it, Tomlin started the final 37 games of his career at Murray State where he mainly played right tackle. He was a second team all-OVC selection and graded out at 90% on the season and blocked for one of the top running and passing games in the FCS.
• OL Mark Asper: Asper was drafted in the 6th round by the Buffalo Bills in the 2012 NFL draft. He was cut by the Bills in August and in September of last year he was picked up by the Vikings. After being waived by Minnesota, the Jaguars picked him up in late December. Asper was a late season add on and was brought on board only when the Jaguars were so incredibly decimated health wise that they were playing guys off the street. Asper played right tackle at Oregon, but is projected more as a guard in the NFL. I’m honestly not too sure where along the offensive line he’ll play, and even the Jaguars mothership has him listed as “OL.” If Asper does stick with the 90 man roster and goes to camp, it will be as a camp body only. At least he will have a fair shot to compete.

The starters are set on both sides with Monroe at Joeckel. After that, it’s really anyone’s ball game which is quite interesting. Having a dependable third tackle is just as important as having a dependable starting tackle. Whoever ends up being the gameday swing tackle is one rolled up ankle away from being thrown into action, and they better be ready.

To me, I find this position battle for back up offensive tackle to be one of the most important on this team, especially when you’ve spent two top 10 picks in the last four years on the position. You have to be sure that your back ups are ready. We’ll be rolling out a premiere offensive line in 2013 with two tackles taken in the top 10 of their respected draft classes and a 14 year veteran at center. If something goes wrong, whoever wins this battle will have to be able to fill in without any hiccups, much unlike last year.

- David R. Johns

Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars continued the renovation of their secondary today by signing CB Marcus Trufant, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks. Trufant has played under Bradley before in Seattle and will bring a veteran presence to a secondary that just added 5 draft picks and 2 rookie free agents.

Trufant is an 11 year veteran. He has accumulated 565 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 21 interceptions, and 111 passes defended along with 2 TDs over his 11 year career. He has seen a lot of action, but is getting a little long in the tooth. In 2012 he appeared in 12 games and started only two. He had 24 tackles, 2 passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

The Trufant signing goes against the recent free agent formula in that Trufant is…well…much, much older. I still like the acquistion though and I believe he will help mentor the young defensive backs. He is familiar with Gus Bradley and his system and he can help bring the young players along, getting them more familiar with how to play the scheme.

Trufant lost playing time last year to younger CBs Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman. He should still have some tread left on the tires and at the very least provide quality depth, but something tells me he could have an opportunity to start. After all, he is an 11 year NFL veteran.

Antwaun Molden was released to make room.

-David R. Johns