It’s hard to overstate just what a special season 2022 was for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Out from under the repressive thumb of Urban Meyer, quarterback Trevor Lawrence thrived in his season pro season, helping lead the team to a 9-8 record and an impressive run in the postseason.
The Jaguars clawed their way back from a 27-0 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round, before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs by a mere seven points in the Divisional game. More importantly, it was a season that signaled the start of a new, long-awaited era in Jacksonville. Year two of that era gets underway later this month when training camp kicks off.
Jacksonville Jaguars training camp start date
Rookies reporting: July 21
Veterans reporting: July 25
First preseason game: Jaguars vs. Cowboys, August 12
Key position battles to watch
Wide Receiver
The top three spots are set, with a solid trio featuring Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Calvin Ridley. So this isn’t a position battle per se, but with Ridley stepping back onto the field after being suspended for the entire 2022 season, it’ll be interesting to see how he shakes out in the target share. Kirk and Jones led the way last year with 133 and 121, respectively. Marvin Jones was third among the receivers with 81. But Ridley’s shown the ability to be a top-producing wideout, so you have to think there’ll be more than 81 targets for him in this offense.
Cornerback
Six-year veteran Tre Herndon is penciled in as the starting nickel corner, but he’s already got some competition from rookie Christian Braswell, a sixth-round pick. The latter was lining up in the slot during rookie minicamp, with a good camp, he could push Herndon for playing time, even the starting job.
Running Back
Travis Etienne has the starting role locked down, but there’s going to be some real competition for the backup job. All eyes right now are on rookie Tank Bigsby. A powerful, nimble back, he could play his way into a meaningful two-down role, perhaps even some goal-line work. He’ll be battling it out with last year’s backup JaMycal Hasty and free agent addition D’Ernest Johnson.