5 Jacksonville Jaguars tumbling down the depth chart during preseason

Jacksonville Jaguars player tumbling down No. 2  – DT Taven Bryan

When the Jaguars selected defensive tackle Taven Bryan with the 29th overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, they thought they were getting a difference-maker. After three years, it’s fair to say that they dropped the ball, as the Florida product has been a non-factor. Earlier this year, the team’s brass declined to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie deal and is now set to become a free agent in 2022.

Heading into the 2021 season, Bryan could be on the roster bubble. Head coach Urban Meyer said the team wants to keep him and defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi believes he has the tools to turn into a playmaker. However, he hasn’t been able to turn that potential into steady production over the last three seasons.

Working against Bryan is the fact that he missed a good chunk of training camp and the Jags’ first preseason game. First, he was involved in an off-field accident. Later, he landed on the COVID-19/Reserve list. Meanwhile, sophomore DaVon Hamilton has made the most of his playing time and it looks like a good bet to be part of the Jags’ starting defensive front.

On the bright side, Bryan returned to practice on August 15th, and head coach Urban Meyer says he is practicing at full speed. The defensive tackle still has a few days to make up some ground. However, the clock is ticking and the window of opportunity to show to live up to his first-round status is closing by the day.