Jacksonville Jaguars shine in preseason finale, observations

The Jacksonville Jaguars can count on TE James O’Shaughnessy.

The Jaguars opted not to pursue any big-name tight ends in free agency. Also, they waited until Round 5 of this year’s draft to take Luke Farrell instead of pursuing someone like Pat Freiermuth early in the selection meeting. The team’s brass believes that their current group of tight ends can be an asset in 2021. Heading into the regular season, James O’Shaughnessy may be the leader of the pack.

Against the Cowboys, the 2015 fifth-round pick caught three passes for 27 yards, the most among tight ends. He spoke to the local media after the game and talked about head coach Urban Meyer’s trust in him. O’Shaughnessy says the head coach didn’t just check his 2020’s film. Instead, he went back to 2019 and saw what he was capable of doing and didn’t try to change him.

"He didn’t try to change me, make me a 265 pound blocking time or make me something that I’m not. He saw some of the skill sets that I had and said “hey, we can use you if you just be the best you”."

O’Shaughnessy also credited Meyer for changing the culture at Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex. The tight end noticed things were headed in the right direction when the team got together for organized team activities.

"And a lot of teams not having, you know, big numbers of OTAs, we were full. And we’re people not just there just to be there, we wanted to be there. And that was 100 percent was him, that was all coach Meyer."

These comments run counter to reports claiming some Jaguars players aren’t thrilled with Meyer’s approach. O’Shaughnessy won’t be confused with an All-Pro tight end any time soon. But he should be a reliable target in the Jaguars’ passing game and a safety valve for Trevor Lawrence.