JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Work is over and It’s time to go golfing.
The Jaguars put their first offseason program under first-year head coach Liam Coen to bed on Thursday morning, breaking for a few weeks before the real work begins.
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“We’re heading out of here on Sunday, so we’ll be flying. We’re traveling a little bit up north, and I’m going overseas to go hit the golf ball a little bit. It’ll be cool,” Coen said. “It’s always nice to be with the family, get away from it for a few days, but also it’s really hard to get away from it in the mind.”
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Offseason workouts complete as break begins for Jaguars
Coen has a big task in front of him — rebuilding the Jaguars. Jacksonville spiraled to a 4-13 mark last season, a collapse that led to a total overhaul. It’s been a quick process since his hire in January and the additional hire of general manager James Gladstone in late February.
With organized team activities and mandatory minicamp in the books, coaches and players will try and scratch out a few weeks away from football before training camp begins in late July. Coen said on the “Pat McAfee Show” that he’s going golfing in Scotland with his father as part of his time away.
Coen said that his first five months as an NFL coach and his first offseason program were according to plan. The Jaguars stayed healthy through their sessions and will report to camp in good shape.
“No surprises. It was very much what you would expect just from learning, growing. I have seen some improvement, for sure, out of a number of players,” he said. “I don’t have a true specific person that really stands out, like, oh my God, there were huge strides here, but you just saw a gradual understanding, guys getting more comfortable in this setting, especially some of the younger guys.”
Trevor feeling better
A big part of Coen’s hire was his work with Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield. In Jacksonville, he’s been tasked with fixing another former No. 1 overall pick in Trevor Lawrence.
The start to Lawrence’s career has been erratic and inconsistent. He struggled with injuries last season and underwent surgery on his left shoulder late last year. If Lawrence can flourish in Coen’s system like Mayfield did in putting up a career season, the Jaguars should thrive.
Lawrence wore a sleeve on his right arm during minicamp and Coen said it was to help with general soreness. Lawrence said he didn’t throw for four months to let his body heal, the longest stretch in his football life that he’s not thrown a ball.
“I think just going from that to, I started throwing a couple of weeks before we started the offseason program, but then we jumped into practice and heavy volume,” Lawrence said. “I think just over time, obviously, you have to adjust and get in shape for that, so just a little bit of soreness. The compression helps just relieve some of that, but that’s all it is so nothing I’m concerned about.”
Hunter pulls switch
Rookie Travis Hunter has been the biggest attraction in OTAs and minicamp, and he’s almost worked exclusively at receiver during open media sessions. He did work with the defense on Tuesday for the first time before going back to receiver on Wednesday. But in Thursday’s final session, Hunter pulled a switch. After working on offense most of the day, Hunter traded his teal jersey for a white one and got the rest of his work in with the defensive players.
Coen said that the Jaguars were working cautiously with Hunter’s juggling of offense and defense and didn’t want to overdo it in the offseason program. But days like Thursday, where Hunter got reps on both sides of the ball, would be something the team did more frequently during training camp and in the regular season.
“That’s definitely what we have to build towards for training camp, and then obviously in season, knowing that during practice, he’s going to have to do both,” Coen said. “He wants to do it. It’s not as if it’s something he can’t handle. He wants to go and do that more. He wants more, and that’s a good thing. But ultimately, we also have to protect him from himself at times as well, and make sure we get out of this phase healthy, but that is absolutely the plan moving forward.”
Notebook
- LeQuint Allen Jr. has climbed up the ladder. I thought Allen had a chance to earn a role this season, and from what I have seen so far, I’d say he is on that track. Allen’s skills in the passing game are going to earn him playing time.
- Eli Pancol can dance and he can play. Pancol has been Hunter’s dance partner at times during practice, but his skills showed up on the field. Pancol looks like the guy who is going to steal a spot on the 53.
- Another receiver who has made some waves is Chandler Brayboy. He has really cranked it up during minicamp. He will be worth watching.
- After being a UDFA favorite last season, Joshua Cephus has consistently stacked some good days.
- Emmanuel Ogbah as the third edge might be the most underrated move the Jags have made this offseason. He looks good.
- As the minicamp went on, Caleb Ransaw has shown real progress. The light was coming on, and he was starting to make more plays on the ball. Keep in mind playing safety is a position switch for him, so it’s understandable it took a little getting used to.
- Hunter just looks natural. He ripped the teal offensive jersey off and started taking reps on defense in his white compression shirt before they got him a white jersey. I don’t know how he will handle the physicality of the NFL game once the pads go on, but he has a natural feel for the game, and that is something that can’t be taught.
- The hype was for Bayshul Tuten to be RB1 after the draft. If I had to bet right now, I’d say Tank Bigsby is RB1. He has been leading the way through everything so far this offseason, and he looks like the guy right now.
