Winners and Losers of Jaguars' 2022 53-Man Roster

Who came out on top and walked away as a big winner after the Jaguars' shaped their first 53-man roster of the season?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are six days away from -- at last -- kicking off a new era. In six short days, the stench of the Urban Meyer regime will officially wash away and the Doug Pederson era will start. 

With Pederson's first year at the helm of the franchise, the Jaguars have 53 players who are each going to be integral toward the goal of winning in Week 1 and beyond.

So, which members of the 53-man roster are big winners after this year's roster cuts and evolution, and which players are on the losing end? We examine below. 

Winners

Tim Jones

The biggest winner is, unquestionably, wide receiver Tim Jones. Jones spent last year injured and on the practice squad, but this year he is set to play a pivotal role as the Jaguars' No. 5 receiver and primary backup on the outside. If one of Zay Jones or Marvin Jones goes down with injury at any point, Tim Jones is suddenly a starter, just one year after he was an afterthought.

"He is somebody who took full advantage of the opportunity ahead of him. We did a lot to test [Tim] and make sure he was developing like we thought early on, he started as a certain positional receiver," Press Taylor said last week. 

"He played more inside, last week we put [Tim Jones] more outside to continue to see and test him. He took advantage of the special teams role that usually comes with that fifth-sixth receiver type role. He earned his way onto this roster right now, so we’re excited about that but we’re also excited to continue to watch him grow and develop.”

Cole Van Lanen

After it looked like Cole Van Lanen was on the outside looking in during Green Bay's preseason and training camp, Van Lanen has gone from a potential member of the Packers' practice squad to a member of the Jaguars' 53-man roster. Van Lanen may be the Jaguars' top backup at guard after Tyler Shatley showed in the preseason that he is a better option at center than guard, which means Van Lanen went from almost not even being on a roster to just being a snap away from being a starting guard.

Montaric Brown 

While the Jaguars have had three draft picks over the last two seasons be released since draft day, they may have hit on seventh-round rookie cornerback Montaric 'Buster' Brown. Brown had a terrific camp for the Jaguars and eventually worked himself up to a spot on the second-team defense, which says a lot about his abilities after he was the second corner the Jaguars drafted in April.

"Buster is a young player who obviously came in and embraced his opportunities. He kept slowly kind of gradually working his way up the depth chart and had some flash plays during camp, and you really love his athleticism and his speed, and you have a guy who is deserving of a spot," Pederson said last week.

"This is something that Trent alluded to with all the young players. They’ve got to understand, and our message to them too, is that the hard work is now beginning. So he has to continue to improve and, as we say, get that one percent better each day and really help our team that way.”

K'Lavon Chaisson

While the Jaguars have parted ways with other members of the 2020 draft class such as cornerback CJ Henderson and wide receiver Laviska Shenault, the one high pick from that class who remains is former first-rounder K'Lavon Chaisson. While Chaisson didn't have a standout camp or preseason, he has locked up a spot on the roster thanks to the fact he actually plays special teams, which was a deciding factor in several of the Jaguars moves last week. Chaisson will start the year as the No. 3 outside linebacker and, thanks to his commitment to playing special teams, will have a third and potentially final chance to carve out a role on the defense.

DaVon Hamilton

With just six defensive linemen on the roster, and four defensive linemen who can play along the 3-4 base front, DaVon Hamilton can rest assured that the nose tackle spot is his and his only in 2022. He had to share it at times as a rookie and in 2021 after the Malcom Brown trade, but the only other player on the active roster who can take snaps from him is Foley Fatukasi -- who is already a starting defender. Hamilton is going to play a huge role this year.

Losers

Brentson Buckner

Brenton Buckner doesn't exactly have a full meeting room these days. The Jaguars have six defensive linemen on their 53-man roster, but two of those defensive linemen (Dawuane Smoot and Arden Key) are situational pass-rushers who likely won't see much time in the base fronts. While the Jaguars do have Mario Edwards Jr. and Israel Antwine on the practice squad, it hurt Buckner's unit to not have Antwine or 2021 fourth-rounder Jay Tufele on the active roster.

Gregory Junior

For the second year in a row, the Jaguars saw their sixth-round selection not make the roster. 2021 sixth-rounder Jalen Camp didn't make the roster as a rookie and ended up signing to the Houston Texans' practice squad, and the trend continued this year as 2022 sixth-rounder Gregory Junior didn't make the cut. And considering the Jaguars had a seventh-round cornerback and a formerly-struggling third-year Chris Claybrooks make the roster, this says a lot about the camp Junior had. Luckily for Junior, he did sign back to the practice squad and the Jaguars' staff will still have time to develop him.

Jeff Cotton Jr. 

The Jaguars opted to go with second-year receiver Tim Jones over fellow second-year wideout Jeff Cotton Jr. after Jones shined throughout the preseason. Cotton arguably had a better training camp and made standout plays in several practices, but when the lights came on on game day, it was Jones who impressed more. 

And as things stand today, the Jaguars seemingly don't have room for Cotton even as a developmental player. The Jaguars have three wide receivers on their practice squad in Kevin Austin Jr., Jaylon Moore and Seth Williams. Considering Moore and Williams were outside signings, it shows the Jaguars thought they could upgrade over Cotton.

Will Richardson

After initially making the Jaguars' 53-man roster, Will Richardson was released a day later as the Jaguars changed out five players for their five waiver claims. Richardson was the only veteran player released during the changing out of players, and he was let go in favor of recently-acquired guard Cole Van Lanen, who had been with the Jaguars for just a week before they switched him out with Richardson.

If Richardson had been placed on injured reserve, the Jaguars could have held his roster spot for at least four games as he rebounded from an ankle injury. Instead, though, the Jaguars moved on from the fifth-year offensive lineman, with Doug Pederson seemingly closing the door on a return last week.

"It does, and it gives him an opportunity to be picked up too, because he’s a good player. He’s played games, and it gives him a chance to be picked up, but it does," Pederson said last Thursday. 

"It shows the confidence in the eight guys right now we have in the 53 and even some of the practice squad guys who played well in the preseason who are in that spot. It can be tough when you’re letting veteran players go, but at the same time, we understand that he’s a good player, and we wish him well and hope he gets picked up.”