1 encouraging takeaway, 1 discouraging note from Jaguars training camp

Training camp is well underway, and as you might imagine, there are some good and bad things that we’ve seen from the Jacksonville Jaguars so far. They're currently working on what they hope will be a bounce-back campaign.

One particular area head coach Doug Pederson is currently focusing on was perhaps the most significant thing holding them back in 2023.

What have the Jaguars been working on in training camp?

The most noticeable focus at Jaguars training camp this summer has been the red zone.

That should come as no surprise, given how much this crew struggled in that area of the field on both sides of the ball. The Jags’ offensive struggles may have been more noticeable in the red zone, but if we’re being fair, the defense didn’t often hold firm when backed up, either.

Per TeamRankings, the Jags ranked 21st in the league last season in red-zone offense (touchdowns only), finding the end zone 50 percent of the time in that area of the field. Their touchdown percentage in the red zone at home was a mere 38.46 percent. Unforced errors, turnovers, poor blocking, and inconsistent field goal kicking all played a part in Press Taylor’s group rarely generating much when in scoring position.

Conversely, the defense, led at that time by Mike Caldwell, was 17th in the red zone per TeamRankings (touchdowns only), conceding a major score 55.77 percent of the time that the opposition was in a position to score. In their final three games of the 2023 regular season, they were especially poor, allowing their opponents to find the end zone on 62.5 percent of their red-zone possessions. You can chalk that up to a lack of penetration along the line of scrimmage, a weak secondary, and allowing running backs to get to the outside often.

So far in training camp, the Jags have done their share of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, all in the red zone. In previous years, they began with first and second-down plays, but they installed third-down and red zone in 2024.

The most encouraging part about the Jaguars red-zone drills

What the Jags’ defense has shown at training camp is highly encouraging as they get set for the pre-season.

New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has preached the importance of being aggressive and bringing the heat often. That message has been well received by this group on that side of the ball. On the first day of practice with those drills previously mentioned, the defense recorded three red-zone interceptions.

“We’ve got some really good red zone teachers. Kris Richard is phenomenal. Learned a lot from him in the red zone. We’ve got just some philosophy things that have success against offenses,” Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen said via Sports Illustrated on Thursday.

The most discouraging part about Jaguars red-zone drills

While the defense has embraced the aggressive approach of their new coordinator, the offense still seems to be a little gun-shy and full of errors in the red zone.

Jacksonville turned the ball over six times in the red zone in the first two days of training camp, with neither Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones, or C.J. Beathard proving to be very successful. One of those turnovers was a fumble by Luke Farrell, while Andrew Wingard picked off Lawrence twice in that area of the field.

The offensive playbook of Press Taylor was apparently to be trimmed down and simplified but based on what we’ve seen in training camp so far, it’s not made them any more successful.

If there is some good news, there is still a long way to go before the start of the season, so there is lots of time to correct those mistakes. We’re getting closer the pre-season, and there will be some changes in personnel on both sides of the ball.

Perhaps it’s best to get these mistakes out of the way now when they have no bearing on how this team will fare in 2024.

More Jaguars analysis here: