June 12, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert (11) hands off to running back Jalen Parmele (34) during minicamp at Florida Blue Health

What’s that you say? It’s only the fourth day of practice and that idiot Jason is predicting the final 53? Well, not exactly…

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A handful of positions seem to be set – kicker, punter, quarterback for example – but there are numerous positions where the starting role and the reserve spots are for the taking.

We settled the crap out of the punter position. Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

We settled the crap out of the punter position.

The area that will garner the most interest during the OTAs (Organized Team Activities) and training camp is the wide receiving corps. It’s safe to conclude that two of the newer acquisitions, Laurent Robinson and Justin Blackmon, are going to be in the rotation. Assuming the Jaguars elect to take 6 receivers into the season, there will be a 6 player battle (Thomas, Shorts, Price, Robiskie, Dillard, and West) for 4 spots. Thomas and Short are good bets to make the roster, so it’ll be interested to see who emerges for the last spot or two.

The other area that should provide some entertainment is the defensive line. With the injuries to Tyson Alualu and Terrance Knighton, don’t be surprised if the Jaguars take some extra bodies with them to start the season on the defensive line. Outside of Mincey, Branch, Knighton, Mosley, and Alualu, it’s hard to find a lock to make the roster along the line. Kampman is still recovering from injury and showed nothing when he came back last year; John Chick is still rehabilitating a devastating injury; Austen Lane hasn’t solidified a spot in the rotation in two years; D’Anthony Smith hasn’t played competitive football in two years; and Jeris Pendleton is a 28 year old rookie from a small college. I fully expect Lane to make the roster, but outside of him it’s hard to make a prediction before seeing anyone take the field for practices.

Another position that will provide some intrigue in training camp is right tackle. Eben Britton seems intent on solidifying his claim to the position, but should he really be penciled in as the starter at this point? He was just OK his rookie year and he struggled mightily his second year before getting injured. He was serviceable in spots last year before being placed on the injured reserve list but he mostly played guard. Don’t be surprised if Will Robinson or Cameron Bradfield challenges Britton in training camp for that spot.

Thankfully, the Jaguars don’t have pressing questions at too many positions. Actually, one of their strongest positions last year, defensive tackle, seems to be in the highest state of flux due to injuries. It should be an exciting couple weeks before the season starts as the final 53 is locked in.

-Daniel Lago

As the draft has been analyzed here at Black and Teal and on several other websites, the Jaguars’ needs have become fairly obvious with wide receiver and defensive end emerging as the most glaring holes. But the draft isn’t just about filling needs – it’s also about providing depth, especially in the later rounds. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Jaguar’s current roster and see where we could use an immediate upgrade as either a starter or a back-up.

*Note that Jaguars.com does not have a roster up right now, so this is non-official. The age is also listed next to the player and the projected starters are italicized.

Of the Jaguars’ 22 offensive/defensive starters, only 4 are 30+ years old. In fact, the Jaguars only have 5 players – Greg Jones, Brad Meester, Daryl Smith, Rashean Mathis, and Aaron Kampman – who are 30 or older. The Jaguars have a relatively young roster, and the core of the team is still mostly developing.

Except for the positions we mentioned earlier (WR and DE), everyone should be fairly comfortable with who is starting. Ideally, DE and WR will be addressed somewhere in the draft so that we have a rookie WR starting opposite Laurent Robinson and a rookie DE starting opposite Jeremy Mincey.

Austen Lane is a great follow on twitter, but he needs to be healthy and more consistent to earn a starting role. Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

Austen Lane is a great follow on twitter, but he needs to be healthy and more consistent to earn a starting role.

A deeper look at the roster will show that I took some liberty at assigning the defensive tackle spot. I assumed the worst-case scenario for Knighton in that he won’t be healthy enough to start at the beginning of the year because of his freak-injury. Couple this with D’Anthony ‘yet to see the field’ Smith and the defensive tackle spot suddenly becomes an area of need and lacking in depth.

Although injuries ravaged the Jaguars’ roster for most of 2011, it did give some younger players the chance to prove they are serviceable back-ups. Players like Morgan Trent, Colin Cloherty, and Cameron Bradfield stepped into the line-up and were at the very least respectable.

In a perfect world, the Jaguars’ draft would end up in a way where three key positions of need – WR, DE, and DT – are addressed in the early rounds while the later rounds in Day 3 are spent on depth and “Jars on the Shelf”. But unfortunately as Jaguar fans know, we don’t live in a perfect world and we know that you can’t reach for players at certain positions. You never know who could fall in your lap in rounds 1, 2, or 3 and if you see a player who can contribute in a significant way, even if he may not start immediately, you need to take him.

Overall, Jaguar fans should be pretty excited about the upcoming season. The roster as it’s currently constructed is very young and on the upswing and the draft will add even more youth and potential.

-Daniel Lago