Although the Jacksonville Jaguars have yet to win a preseason game, they’ve made significant strides over the last few months. In their 16-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the starting offense was able to move the ball while the defense fared well against the run.
Moreover, players such as wide receiver Christian Kirk and defensive end Dawuane Smoot showed the kind of impact they could have for the Jags in 2022.
Conversely, a handful of players didn’t have a great outing and failed to either solidify their roster spot or move up the depth chart. In particular, these four Jaguars saw their sock plummet following the loss to the Steelers.
No. 4 Jaguars player whose stock is plummeting: Laviska Shenault Jr, WR
The Jags showed they didn’t expect wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. to have a big role on their offense when they signed Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency. This gave Viska the opportunity to put his head down and work on his craft in the offseason, so whenever he got a chance, he could show his worth to the coaching staff.
However, Shenault hasn’t done much of note lately and his outing against the Steelers wasn’t particularly impressive. Against Pittsburgh, he had two returns. He muffed the first one and gained five yards on the next one.
Shenault later caught a pass for six yards. Simply put, that’s not the kind of performance that will get you much playing time, especially when you take into account that fellow wide receiver Tim Jones hauled in five receptions for 70 yards.
All things considered, it’s possible that Shenault is trying to do too much. But regardless of the reason, it doesn’t look like he will be a big part of Jacksonville’s offense this year, so a fresh start may be in everyone’s best interest.
No. 3 Jaguars player whose stock is plummeting: K’Lavon Chaisson, OLB
Laviska Shenault Jr. isn’t the only member of the Jaguars’ 2020 draft class that is at risk of becoming an afterthought this upcoming season. Outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson has been underwhelming in his first two NFL seasons and hasn’t done much over the last few months to improve his stock. In fact, his outing against the Steelers might get him bumped down the depth chart.
Chaisson played well into the fourth quarter and was a non-factor throughout the game. In spite of all the playing time he got, he only had one total tackle. This wasn’t an outlier though, as the player known as Swiper posted a combined four pressures in the last two preseason games. This is even worse when you take into account that he’s mostly faced off against second and third-stringers.
You could make the case that Chaisson has struggled to develop because he has played for three coaching staff in as many years but the same is true for teammate Dawuane Smoot, who is thriving in spite of all the turnover.
While it’s hard to see the Jaguars pulling the plug on Chaisson before the start of the regular season, time is running out for him to show he can make an impact. He doesn’t even have to become a 10-sack kind of player. He simply needs to show he can be an effective role piece in the Jaguars’ pass-rush rotation, and so far, he hasn’t done that.
No. 2 Jaguars player whose stock is plummeting: Walker Little, OT
Sophomore Walker Little’s switch to right tackle has been relatively seamless. While he’s had down days, he’s also shown signs of progress over the last few months. Nevertheless, he’s still competing with Jawaan Taylor for the starting job and his performance against the Steelers could end up tipping the scale in Taylor’s favor.
Little appeared on 16 pass-blocking snaps and gave up two total pressures one hurry and a sack to outside linebacker T.J Watt. It’s true that Watt is one of the best end rushers in the NFL but Little’s margin for error is slim, especially when you consider that Taylor hasn’t surrendered a single pressure on 30 pass-blocking snaps in the last two games.
Taylor missed several days of training camp with a hamstring injury but it doesn’t seem like it hurt him one bit. Heading into Week 3 of the preseason, he has a legitimate shot at seizing the right tackle job. However, the battle is not over yet and Little will have the chance to make up ground in the upcoming days.
Head coach Doug Pederson told the media that the Steelers game would be an important part of the evaluation at right tackle but he added that the joint practices against the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason finale and the matchup itself would also carry weight.
Pederson and the coaching staff will probably announce the winner of the battle for the starting job after the preseason finale, so Little must have a superb week of practice and an outstanding outing against the Falcons if he doesn’t want to start the regular season on the bench.
No. 1 Jaguars player whose stock is plummeting: Ryan Santoso, K
The Jaguars’ biggest loser following the loss to the Steelers is probably kicker Ryan Santoso, who had a chance to lock the job but came crashing down. He missed his first attempt, a 51-yarder. He went on to nail his next two field goals, one of 53 yards and a 25-yard one. But then he missed the one he shouldn’t have with the game on the line.
With three seconds left on the clock, Santoso missed a 57-yard attempt that could have given the Jaguars the win. Sure, he didn’t have a favorable field position and had plenty of pressure on his shoulders but that’s part of the job description.
Santoso didn’t single-handedly lose the game but he failed to win it when he could. Moreover, he could have secured the kicker job but he didn’t. After all, the Jags had just released Elliot Fry not long after signing him and there was nothing standing between the job and Santoso.
Looking back, it’s a good thing Doug Pederson didn’t commit to Santoso. A few days ago, he told the local media that he needed to see more from him, and after the game, he said that he expects Santoso to” battle back and try to correct it”.
Kicker seems to be one of Jacksonville’s biggest roster holes ahead of the regular season, so it’s possible that they will keep throwing darts and bring in someone else in the upcoming days to try to fix or stabilize the position as much as possible.