Jacksonville Jaguars ready for preseason, Day 13 notes

The Jacksonville Jaguars released their first official depth chart a few days before their first preseason game on August 14. There were certainly a few surprises. Why would veteran running back Carlos Hyde be listed ahead of rookie Travis Etienne or why is EDGE rusher Dawuane Smoot is grouped with the defensive tackles.

In the end, the aforementioned depth chart may not have much relevance to the Jags’ preseason game against the Cleveland Browns. You know what else may not be really important? The number of snaps Trevor Lawrence will get. It’s true that the rookie passer needs to be ready for the season opener but starting a game that won’t count in the standings will not hinder his progress in the long run.

The Clemson product has shown growth throughout training camp and it might not make much sense to expose him to injuries. After all, how much will one extra series realistically benefit him? On the other hand, Lawerence isn’t the only quarterback on the Jaguars roster and the team’s brass needs to see what they have in Gardner Minshew, C.J. Beathard, and Jake Luton.

Head coach Urban Meyer spoke to the local media after Thursday’s practice and said that veterans such as center Brandon Linder “may come out a little earlier than a guy who’s a starter who needs more reps”.

Meyer knows that the stakes will be high for several players who may currently be on the fringe. He met with the team after practice and talked about expectations for Saturday’s game.

"To be fair, what’s the expectation? The expectation is I want a clean game. We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on the fundamentals of the game, and I expect a winner mentality. The reality is there are people across from you trying to take your job. Some of these guys are in survival mode. I respect that."

Here are a few more observations about Day 13 of Jaguars training camp.