Competition gets the best out of everyone and this is true for NFL players trying to earn a starting job or a roster spot this offseason. The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently set at most positions but they will hold a few battles in training camp to identify their best options.
Some of these battles will be for backup roles but if the objective is to identify the best 53 players to fill the roster, the Jags must embrace competition. With that in mind, here are Jacksonville’s most intriguing position battles ahead of the 2022 season.
Jaguars most intriguing offseason battle No. 1 – Starting center.
After eight NFL seasons, Brandon Linder announced his retirement earlier this year. While he was one of the top centers during his stint in Jacksonville, injuries forced him to sit out several games throughout his career. In fact, he only started 16 games in a year once, which is one of the reasons he decided to hang up the cleats.
The Jags were aware of Linder’s decision to call it quits so they gave Tyler Shatley a two-year deal this offseason. He is currently slated to start at center but he will need to fend off rookie Luke Fortner in training camp. While Fortner played guard throughout most of his collegiate career at Kentucky, he switched to center in 2021 and made 13 starts.
Shatley has made 18 starts over the last two seasons, so he will get the first crack at the starting job. However, Fortner will try to make a case in training camp. Whoever loses the battle will be the Jags’ top backup in the interior offensive line in 2022.
Jaguars most intriguing offseason battle No. 2 – RB2/3.
While it’s still a tad too early to tell whether the Jaguars’ brass made the right decision when they selected running back Travis Etienne with the 25th overall pick in last year’s draft, they will need him to make big plays for them in 2022. The former Clemson Tiger routinely logged plays of 20 yards or more at the collegiate level and Jacksonville could use a few this upcoming season.
On the other hand, the Jaguars’ coaching can’t overwork Etienne and must spread the load around. Ideally, James Robinson would get a significant amount of playing time but he’s currently nursing the torn Achilles he suffered late in the 2022 season, so Jacksonville will need to lean on either rookie Snoop Conner or Ryquell Armstead.
A fifth-round pick in 2019, Armstead toted the rock just 35 times for 108 yards in his rookie campaign. He missed the 2020 season after getting COVID-19 and spent time with several teams before returning to Jacksonville last year. The Temple product saw game action in the last two weeks of the season and went on to rack up a solid 15 carries for 80 yards.
Instead of adding a veteran in free agency, the Jags opted to use a fifth-round pick on Conner. Back at Ole Miss, he amassed 304 carries for 1,580 yards with 26 touchdowns as a part of the Rebels’ rotation at running back. In Jacksonville, he won’t compete with Armstead for a feature role but rather the backup job behind Etienne while Robinson recovers.
Jaguars most intriguing offseason battle No. 3 – QB3
The battle for the No. 3 spot on the quarterback depth chart isn’t the kind that will get the spotlight. Yet, it could end up determining the Jaguars’ long-term strategy at the position. Jacksonville currently has a starter in Trevor Lawrence and barring injury, he won’t leave the field often. C.J. Beathard is entrenched as the top backup, and won’t likely enter the field unless a game is out of reach. On the other hand, the third spot isn’t currently settled.
At this point, it’s uncertain if the Jags will carry three quarterbacks into the 2022 season but if they do, either rookie EJ Perry or Jake Luton will get the nod. The latter started three games as a rookie but was overwhelmed, going 0-3. He took part in Jaguars’ training camp last year but was released before Week 1 only to be brought back at the end of the year.
The Jaguars signed Perry as a free agent after the conclusion of this year’s draft. He didn’t post impressive numbers at Brown but his ceiling could be higher than Luton’s, which makes him an intriguing prospect.
Luton will have the early edge in the competition by virtue of having been in the league for two seasons but if Perry displays potential in training camp, the team’s brass might go with him. It’s possible that the Jags added Perry with the intention of developing him into a solid backup and if he shows enough progress in his rookie campaign, he will give the team options at the position next offseason.
Jaguars most intriguing offseason battle No. 4 – Starting safety.
The Jaguars made several additions to their safety room last offseason. Besides re-signing veteran Josh Jones, they signed Rayshawnk Jenkins and Rudy Ford in free agency. Furthermore, they took Andre Cisco in the third round of the selection meeting. The team’s brass ultimately released Jones, along with Jarrod Wilson, before the start of the 2021 season, and Wingard and Jenkins ended up starting in Week 1.
Andrew Wingard and Rayshawn Jenkins started for most of the year but Daniel Thomas and Cisco got playing time towards the end of the year. Jenkins wasn’t particularly great and suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss three games. He should get a clean slate under defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and will most likely start at one safety spot against the Washington Commanders in Week 1. Meanwhile, Cisco and Wingard will compete for the other starting spot.
Wingard signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and worked his way up the depth chart, starting 19 games over the last two years. He was chosen over Cisco to start last year but there’s a new coaching staff in place and he will have to once again compete for the spot next to Jenkins.
For his part, Cisco was a playmaker at Syracuse but dealt with injuries the last two years of his collegiate career, which led to a draft slide. He was healthy for his rookie campaign and while he joined the starting lineup near the end of the 2021 season, he displayed flashes of the talent that made him a ballhawk for the Orangeman. With one year of experience under his belt, he will have a legitimate chance to beat Wingard.
Jaguars most intriguing offseason battle No. 5 – Starting right tackle.
The Jaguars needed to revamp their offensive line this offseason, so they drafted interior offensive lineman Luke Fortner and signed right guard Brandon Scherff in free agency. They also gave left tackle Cam Robinson a three-year deal worth $54 million to ensure Trevor Lawrence’s blindside is well-protected.
Ben Bartch will tentatively start at left guard, and Jawaan Taylor will do the same at right tackle. However, he could face some competition from sophomore Walker Little, who showed potential last year. The Jags drafted Little 45th overall last year, so they probably expected him to have a starting role in 2021 but the former Stanford Cardinal had to sit behind Robinson and only saw playing time when Robinson was good to go.
Little gave up two sacks in his first NFL start but allowed none in the next two and could thrive in a featured role. Meanwhile, Taylor hasn’t missed a game since being drafted 35th overall in 2019 and is currently the incumbent to start at right tackle. However, he’s coming off a season in which he surrendered a concerning 12 penalties.
The Jaguars’ brass is high on Taylor and expects him to make strides in 2021. But he will have to look over his shoulder if he doesn’t want to lose his job to Little, who is simply too good to keep riding the bench. The coaching staff must find him a spot to play and right tackle might be the most realistic one in 2022.