Jaguars 53-man roster prediction following the outstanding win vs. the Chiefs

The final outcome of preseason games appears to be meaningless, but they're quite meaningful. That's true for the Jacksonville Jaguars and any other NFL team. While the presumptive starters continue to prepare themselves to play regular season games, the backups are locked in a battle for a job.

Many of those players, they've never suited up for a more meaningful game of football in their careers. Their performance in a preseason game could make or break their chances of getting paid handsomely to play a sport for a living, or perhaps be out of the game for good.

Fans are not privy to every practice rep, every positional group meeting, or every metric in the training room. That's why they can sometimes place a little too much value on a preseason game performance. But, outside of practice reports from local media along with the occasional video snippet, that's what they have to go on.

Additionally, teams may add a player here or there as the preseason progresses, either through trades, street free agents, or cuts from other teams. For example, had this column been written before the win over the Kansas City Chiefs, safety Tashaun Gipson wouldn't have been on the roster.

With, one preseason game under their belt, the Jags' roster is starting to come into focus. Here's a projection of how it could ultimately look.

Jaguars QBs (2): Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones

The battle here is between Mac Jones and CJ Beathard, who comported himself well in his outing Saturday. However, so did Mac Jones, demonstrating a stronger arm, better accuracy, and moderately better mobility. If Beathard is still the first backup quarterback off the bench in Preseason Week 2, then this could change.

Jaguars RBs (4): Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, D'Ernest Johnson, Jalen Jackson

This is arguably the most interesting position group to watch on the team. While Etienne and Bigsby are definitely safe, there are three contenders for the final two spots. D'Ernest Johnson is a fair bet given his experience and productivity in a limited role, which leaves Keilan Robinson and Jalen Jackson battling it out for the fourth slot.

It's generally believed Keilan Robinson had the inside track on that job, given the fact that he was drafted and penciled in as a kick returner. However, Jackson has generated a lot of buzz in camp and backed it up with a nice performance Saturday.

Interestingly, players from outside the running back group could impact this race as well. Tank Bigsby and Parker Washington both showed off dynamic special teams contributions Saturday. With Devin Duvernay slated to be the number one returner, the Jags will have three excellent returners on the team, already.

How many kick returners do they need? Plus, Robinson has been injured throughout camp. If ever the adage, "you can't make the club in the tub" will be tested, it's here.

Jaguars WRs (6): Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, Brian Thomas Jr., Devin Duvernay, Parker Washington, Elijah Cooks

Joshua Cephus has had the big buzz throughout camp, but he had an ugly drop in the game marring what otherwise would have been a near-perfect performance from Mac Jones. Elijah Cooks had a catch, and his size and speed combo would seem to be ideal as a backup weapon for Trevor Lawrence.

Tim Jones has had a stranglehold on the final receiver spot for a couple of years thanks to his special teams abilities, but as one of the only receivers not to register a catch on Saturday, the tide could be shifting against him.

Jaguars O-Linemen (9) Cam Robinson, Walker Little, Javon Foster, Ezra Cleveland, Blake Hance, Mitch Morse, Brandon Scherff, Anton Harrison, Cooper Hodges

Whose fault is the above sack? Without being in the team meetings, it's hard to know for certain whether the much-maligned Luke Fortner was to blame for allowing a blitzer to come straight up the middle (where he lines up) untouched, or not. But, it's a strong possibility.

Reportedly, the Jags have been experimenting with Fortner to see if he can contribute at guard. Conversely, the Jags may look to try other players as the backup center over the next couple of weeks in case of emergency. Shatley probably won't be that, as he nearly got Beathard killed on the long touchdown pass to Duvernay, albeit as a guard, not center. Still, he's probably done.

Meanwhile, the longest O-Line positional battle in the history of the team continues between Walker Little and Cam Robinson. It's the same story on repeat here. Little continues to play well, but not well enough to make Robinson expendable as trade bait. The guess here is that the Jaguars enjoy having three experienced frontline tackles to protect their No. 1 investment for this season, a.k.a Trevor Lawrence.

This position will almost certainly receive a shakeup next season, but for one last year, the Jags will enjoy the luxury of three starting tackles, with an additional project in the chamber in the form of Javon Foster.

Should the Jags finally pull the trigger on a trade, sending Cam Robinson elsewhere as discussed here, perhaps that would open up a spot for Fortner. But, even in that situation, what value does a center who is not good at center bring to the table? Cole Van Lanen would be a more valuable bullpen player for the Jags at that point.

Jaguars TEs (4): Evan Engram, Brenton Strange, Josiah Deguara, Luke Farrell

Not much has changed here except for Josiah Deguara having a huge game and demonstrating his value. With a renewed emphasis on the running game, it's hard to imagine the Jags going with only three tight ends, and Deguara has done a lot to secure that fourth spot.

Jaguars defensive linemen (5): Maason Smith, Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Jordan Jefferson

The Jaguars have a lot of good players at defensive tackle, so a lot of prognosticators have them keeping six. However, that's a lot of players for two positions, and the Jags could stash a sleeper like Esezi Otomewo on the practice squad in case of emergency.

Otomewo hasn't received a lot of buzz, but he was all over the place in the opener and could be making a case for five defensive tackles on the active roster instead of six. If Roy Robertson-Harris didn't have a massive dead cap number, he might be in trouble as well.

Jaguars edge rushers (5): Travon Walker, Tyler Lacy, Josh Hines-Allen, Trevis Gipson, DJ Coleman

Camp reports seemed to indicate a dearth of depth at this position, leading to the thought that a fifth edge player could be sacrificed in favor of a sixth defensive tackle. But, Week 1 of the preseason results spoke otherwise, with a number of players making a case for a fifth edge player. Myles Cole, DJ Coleman, and Raheem Green all flashed.

The guess here is DJ Coleman based on remarks from Jaguars defensive Coordinator Ryan Neilson. But, the Jags also could go with the youngest player with the most upside in Myles Cole. Any of these three players could make the sixth defensive tackle superfluous.

Jaguars linebackers (5): Devin Lloyd, Foyesade Oluokun, Chad Muma, Ventrell Miller, Caleb Johnson

No change here with the Jaguars' depth chart looking solid at the linebacker position. It won't affect the final 53 but keep an eye out on Chad Muma vs. Devin Lloyd. Although a few local media pundits scoff at the notion of Muma pushing Lloyd for the starting inside backer job, the Jags put out a depth chart with them listed as co-starters for a reason.

Even though the first unofficial depth chart was "etched in sand," and will certainly change, Muma definitely looked more instinctive and disruptive in the game on Saturday.

Jaguars cornerbacks (6): Tyson Campbell, Ronald Darby, Jarrian Jones, Christian Braswell, Darnell Savage, DeAntre Prince

With Christian Braswell continuing to make plays, it seems like the final corner position will come down to Deantre Prince vs. Montaric Brown. This is a hotly contested race, and likely won't be settled until the final cuts. The depth in the secondary has improved drastically, and Trent Baalke deserves some credit for reconstructing this position group.

Jaguars safeties (4): Andre Cisco, Antonio Johnson, Daniel Thomas, Terrell Edmunds, *Andrew Wingard, *Tashaun Gipson

An odd situation is developing at safety. The Jags signed an oldie but a goodie in Tashaun Gipson on Sunday after the game, which could indicate a potential lack of satisfaction in Antonio Johnson as the starter.

Regardless, Gipson is suspended for the first six games, so he won't count against the final 53 until then. Similarly, Andrew Wingard has a significant knee injury. The Jags will likely be able to waive Thomas or Edmunds at the final cut, and then re-sign them after placing Wingard on Injured Reserve, which would allow Dewey to return at some point in the season. They did the same thing last season with Blake Hance in order to stash Cooper Hodges on the IR last year.

So, the Jags will likely have six safeties "on the team," but only four counting toward the active roster. The ultimate beneficiary of all of this maneuvering will be Terrell Edmunds, who hit like a hammer on Saturday and looked like a legitimate NFL safety.

Jaguars specialists (3): Cam Little, Ross Matisick, Logan Cooke

This isn't going to change, with Cam Little continuing to look like he has the goods.

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