Jaguars Notebook: Observations From OTA No. 1

What did we see during the Jaguars' first OTA practice?

Jul 26, 2023; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars hit the practice field for the first day of OTAs on Monday, giving us our first look of the 2024 Jaguars.

Like all offseason practices, Monday was a practice without pads on. As a result, context is required as the Jaguars build toward training camp.

“Stay healthy. This next phase, it's good to be able to have a little competition and compete against each other but within the rules we've got to make sure we protect each other," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said about his expectations for OTAs.

"Just don't want any injuries. We're still teaching, learning and developing so I don't really go into it with a lot of depth charts in mind. We're trying to get everybody an opportunity to put them on film and see what we do have."

So, what did we see during Monday's practice? We break it down below.

Christian Kirk looks like Christian Kirk

Christian Kirk proved to be one of the most important pieces on the Jaguars' entire roster last year. Not only was he on pace for a second strong season in terms of production before his injury in Week 13, but his absence over the final five games proved to be a major factor in the Jaguars' collapse. Kirk rehabbed hard this offseason after getting surgery during the season for the core muscle injury, and Monday looked like an emphatic return to the field.

“He looks healthy, he looks strong," Pederson said on Monday. "No setbacks with him so, he's right on track doing everything. He looks really good."

Kirk caught everything thrown his way on Monday; his chemistry with Trevor Lawrence is obviously strong entering their third year together. But beyond that, Kirk ran routes with the same crispness and explosiveness that he did before his injury. With Brian Thomas Jr. still in his early stages of development and Gabe Davis out for the day due to birth of his child over the weekend, Kirk looked like an obvious alpha dog in the wide receiver room. Chances are he would have done the same thing even if the room was at full speed, too.

Jarrian Jones is first rookie to standout

Nothing should be read into very heavily this time of the year. With that said, it felt like the rookie with the strongest practice on Monday was third-round cornerback Jarrian Jones. With the entire defense learning as they go in Ryan Nielsen's scheme, there is a lot of noise surrounding each play. The rookie cornerback never looked out of place on Monday, though, adjusting quickly to the scheme and making some strong plays in team drills.

Jones flew around the field on Monday and showed some physicality even without pads on, closely competing with receivers on each target thrown his way and breaking one pass. Jones has the confidence to compete as a rookie and on Monday he flashed sone if the traits that suggests he can make some kind of impact on the defense early in his career.

Parker Washington has a day

One of the most impressive players in this practice setting was second-year receiver Parker Washington. Washington made several impressive grabs throughout the day in both individual and team drills, and he also showed off the quickness and explosiveness that makes his game stand out. After Kirk, he was probably the best overall performer in the receiver room on Monday.

Washington has to fight for a spot on the depth chart since Kirk, Davis, Thomas, and Devin Duvernay are all locks for the roster. Washington's special teams value and 2023 flashes might be enough for him to earn the No. 5 roster spot, and practices like Monday will only help his case. The bottom of the receiver room will be a fierce competition this year, but Washington is off to a good start.

Mac Jones makes his Jaguars practice debut

One of the biggest new faces on the field on Monday was former New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. Media got their first chance to see Jones in a practice setting since the Jaguars traded a sixth-round pick for him this offseason, and Jones didn't dissapoint. Jones had solid accuracy throughout the day and looked far from a quarterback who is in his early days in Doug Pederson's system.

There was no true first-, second-, third-team offense in this setting, so there is nothing to read into in terms of who lined up with who. With that said, natural logic would indicate Jones is the front-runner to be the No. 2 quarterback over C.J. Beathard. The Jaguars could keep three quarterbacks, but if they only keep two then it seems like the most reasonable thing to do is to attempt to keep Beathard rostered on the practice squad. The Jaguars gave up draft capital for Jones and it is unlikely he would clear waivers. Fewer teams would like come poaching Beathard.

Play of the day

We won't count any plays on air in this category; otherwise, Mac Jones and Brian Thomas connecting on a deep completion would be in contention. Instead the play of the day goes to wide receiver Elijah Cooks, who made a nifty catch in the back of the corner of the end zone in team drills, tapping two feet in and drawing cheers from the offense.