Jaguars Host Former Draft Picks Darwin Thompson, Jacob Harris For Rookie Minicamp

The two veterans were a part of the tryout players invited to this weekend's minicamp.

A groupd of former NFL Draft picks were on hand for the Jacksonville Jaguars' first rookie minicamp practice on Friday. 

2019 sixth-round running back Darwin Thompson and 2021 fourth-round tight end Jacob Harris were among the five veteran try outs for the Jaguars, joining linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, defensive lineman Carlos Davis and outside linebacker Derrek Tuszka.

"Oh I think it's great for all the guys, especially those guys. I mean these guys have been on NFL rosters, whether it's a practice squad or active roster and it's just what can they show us?" Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Friday. 

"As I messaged them last night, the whole group, it's like we've got our own roster players here, we've got our draft picks here, we've got UDFAS here, we've got veteran tryouts and tryout guys, but we're all Jaguars this weekend. So I want them to put their best foot forward and possibly, you know, you find somebody coming out of this weekend."

The five have played in a combined 110 games during their careers, with Thompson rushing for 225 yards and two touchdowns in 26 games with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 and 2020.

Harris, a former UCF wide receiver who converted to tight end in Los Angeles, played in 16 games with the Rams but recorded just one catch for six yards. 

Joe Giles-Harris appeared in 14 games for the Jaguars in 2019 and 2020, starting three and recording 23 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack.

Davis, a seventh-round selection in 2020, appeared in 12 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers, recording three tackles for loss and one sack.

Tuszka, a seventh-round selection in 2020, has appeared in 39 games with the Denver Broncos, Steelers, Tennessee Titans, and Los Angeles Chargers, recording 40 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks in the process. 

"What it does do is it puts you in the memory bank for us and if we have an injury down the road or something like that, we know that hey this is a player we had in rookie camp, we can plug him right in, he can play. So it's just kind of increasing your bank of players as time goes through the rest of OTAs and training camp."