Three Jaguars to watch against the Eagles
By David Levin
Which players must stand out in the Jacksonville Jaguars game against the Philadelphia Eagles?
The mantra for the Jacksonville Jaguars in their week two game against the Philadelphia Eagles and simple – Don’t get hurt.
Head coach Doug Marrone has said repeatedly that he has changed his game plan during minicamp and training camp to avoid the injury bug. That’s why more than a third of the team’s roster did not suit up for the game against the Baltimore Ravens last week.
This week looks more like the same situation, where Marone and his coaching staff will decide which players suit up against the Eagles. We know we won’t see Nick Foles or Leonard Fournette or some of the other key stars of this team.
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What this means is key roster spots could be determined over the course of the next three weeks in terms of depth at several key positions.
Don’t think for a minute that these games don’t matter. While the score may not be indicative of winning football, Jacksonville is a team with many needs which need to be filled. This week’s game at home is just another opportunity for players to step forward and make a case for the 53-man roster.
Here is a look at three players to watch on Thursday night.
Taven Bryan – I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t surprised when Marrone singled out his first-round round draft pick on more than one occasion this week. The staff sees improvement Taven Bryan, which hopefully means he’s taking his second step toward becoming an effective run-stuffer in the NFL.
If you base play on stats alone, Eli Ankou has outperformed the former Florida star, which leads me to believe this week is an important one for Bryan in determining whether he starts this season or continues in a backup role in the tackle rotation.
Will Richardson – It has become the feel-good story of training camp. Will Richardson, the Jaguarsfourth-round draft pick from last season has been impressive in camp, battling A.J. Cann for the starting right guard spot.
Marrone said there is plenty of competition on the line, with Cann, Richardson and Brandon Thomas getting time on the right side. Richardson was first believed to be the team’s future at right tackle but has been moved inside where he has looked much better.
This is one of those positions that could go down to the final week of the preseason before a decision is made. If anything the line is stronger because competition provides more depth.
The last wide receiver spot – Last week of veteran Terrell Pryor was held out of the game against Baltimore, and Keelan Cole was given the opportunity to stake his claim to one of the final wide receiver spots on the roster. Will this week be the opposite where Cole takes a seat on the sidelines and lets Pryor make his case?
More Jaguars Tuesday training camp report: Coach Doug Marrone has praised DT Taven Bryan over the past week and said today that Bryan is "starting to play really well. That’s exciting for us." When asked earlier in the week what Bryan did well in the... https://t.co/x7RY4Jv411
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) August 13, 2019
Marrone explained his process of letting Jaguars players have the night off based on their performance in camp. I think this is one of the more fascinating stories leading up to the regular season. The wide receiver group is not as bad as the national media makes it out to be.
Having somebody like Pryor, a seasoned veteran or Cole, who can still run by defenders, as one of your last wide receivers is not a bad thing to have.