Position battles to watch in Jaguars training camp

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a few roster tweaks during the offseason but kept together most of their 9-8 team from last year.

Here are three key position battles to watch when training camp opens on July 19.

Backup quarterback

Projected backup: C.J. Beathard

Player to watch: Mac Jones

Trevor Lawrence is the unquestioned starter, and with the Jaguars investing $275M in him, the hope is they never have to see the backup quarterback on the field. But the wrinkle in this situation is one of the guys competing for the No. 2 job, 25-year-old Mac Jones, is looking for a clean slate to revive his career, while 30-year-old C.J. Beathard is a career backup and will likely be nothing more.

It would seem Jones has more incentive to show out in training camp and the preseason in hopes of earning another contract somewhere else, but there’s a reason Beathard has been largely unchallenged for the Jags’ backup spot for the last three seasons. Training camp could be make-or-break for Jones’ chances of ever being a starter again.

Wide receiver

Projected starter: Christian Kirk

Player to watch: Gabriel Davis, Brian Thomas Jr., Devin Duvernay

With Calvin Ridley now in Tennessee, Jacksonville needs to find Kirk’s complement on the other side. Davis was a big-play receiver in Buffalo who scored a lot of touchdowns, but he would disappear for stretches and there’s a reason the Bills didn’t try to re-sign him in free agency.

Thomas Jr. was the Jaguars’ first-round pick in April, and he was the top touchdown scorer in college football last season (he had 17 TDs at LSU in 2023.) He’s also got the size (he’s 6-foot-4) to be a Plaxico Burress-type of jump-ball WR who wins a lot of contested catches.

I also wouldn’t count Duvernay out in this situation either. Yes, he had just four receptions in 13 games last season, but in the three years prior, he averaged close to 40 targets a season and he could be a sneaky No. 3 option for the Jaguars.

Offensive tackle

Projected starter: Cam Robinson

Players to watch: Walker Little, Anton Harrison

Little and Robinson played equally at left tackle during the previous campaign, with the former sitting out the first few games because of a suspension. They were both excellent, but according to Pro Football Focus, Little gave up more pressures and hurries, and Robinson gave up one extra sack.

Harrison, who spent the whole previous season playing right tackle, appears to be a lock to start there, leaving Little and Robinson to compete on the left side. Little has a cap hit of just $2.45 million, whereas Robinson costs them $21.9 million against the cap, if everything else is identical. Nobody could hold Jacksonville responsible for benching or trading Robinson in order to save just over $17 million and continue with the less expensive and younger Little at left tackle.

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