5 Jacksonville Jaguars who must earn bigger roles in 2022

No. 2 Jaguars player who must earn a bigger role – Ryquell Armstead.

In theory, the Jaguars were going to have one of the most dynamic running back tandems in the league last year. However, rookie Travis Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury in the preseason, and James Robinson was a victim of Urban Meyer’s poor coaching decisions.

To make matters worse, Robinson tore his Achilles toward the end of the 2021 season and will probably miss a good chunk of training camp. Etienne should be back for offseason activities but the Jaguars can’t rush either one and may need to rely on their other running backs.

This past draft, the Jaguars used a fifth-round pick on Ole Miss’ Snoop Conner. The former Rebel could get plenty of reps while Robinson recovers but he will have to beat Ryquell Armstead first and that may prove to be a difficult task.

A fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft, Armstead played all 16 games but only toted the rock 35 times for 108 yards. He caught COVID-19 in 2020 and developed myocarditis, which forced him to sit out the whole season. He was released in 2021 and spent time with the New York Giants, the New Orleans Saints, and the Green Bay Packers before returning to the Jags toward the end of the season.

Armstead ended up appearing in two games and racking up 15 carries for 80 yards. He has a realistic shot at backing Etienne up and getting a big workload early in the 2022 season.