Jaguars Notebook: Observations From Day 1 of Training Camp

What did we see in the Jaguars' first training camp practice?

Jaguars wide receivers line up at training camp. / John Shipley Jr.

School is back in session in Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Jaguars officially opened the doors of the Miller Electric Center for 2024 training camp on Wednesday, welcoming their 90-man roster back onto the practice field as they prepare for Week 1 and beyond.

So, what did we see on the first day back on the field? We break it down below.

Defense wins Day 1

The defense started out camp with the early advantage. It is only the first day of camp so it should be taken with a grain of salt, but the defense looked impressive against all three quarterbacks in 7-on-7 and team drills inside the red zone on Wednesday. If there is an early winner in camp between the offense and defense, it is the defense.

Trevor Lawrence had a few notable wins, such as a touchdown pass to Christian Kirk over Gregory Junior in coverage. Lawrence also threw touchdown passes to Brenton Strange, Evan Engram and Travis Etienne. But the defense also made some impressive plays, with Ronald Darby intercepting the fourth-year passer once and Tyson Campbell deflecting a pass intended for Gabe Davis.

As for the backups, the Jaguars' defense managed to intercept both Mac Jones and C.J Beathard. Caleb Johnson picked off a Jones pass just a few plays after he knocked away a potential touchdown pass from Jones to Tank Bigsby, while Christian Braswell had a would-be pick-six against Beathard.

Jarrian Jones flashes ... again

Jarrian Jones was one of the stars of practice on Wednesday. Excuse us if you had heard that before, but the third round cornerback continues to turn heads at Jaguars practices. While he wasn't one of the three defenders to record an interception on Wednesday, he made maybe the best play in coverage on the day. This has been a trend going all the way back to rookie minicamp, too, which suggests it is far from a fluke.

With big-man wide receiver Seth Williams posting up for a ball in the corner of the end zone, Jones used his athleticism and length to disrupt the ball at the catch point and force an incompletion. Competitiveness, explosiveness and physicality -- he showed it all on one play. Jones will have to fight to earn a spot in the starting secondary, but it will be tougher and tougher to keep him off the field if he continues to perform.

Injury updates

The biggest injury storyline entering Jaguars training camp clearly surrounds star defensive lineman Arik Armstead. Armstead missed several games due to a meniscus injury last year, though he would play through the injury in the playoffs and the Super Bowl. As a result, Armstead is entering camp on the Active/PUP list and Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said he wants to wait until Armstead is 100% to hit the field again, noting "he has played a lot of football" already.

Among the other notable injuries ...

• Defensive back Darnell Savage is still in a red non-contact jersey after suffering a rotator injury last year, but he did go through team drills and looked explosive.

• Rookie running back Keilan Robinson will be limited with a toe sprain he sustained in the offseason practices.

• Undrafted rookie offensive lineman Steven Jones sustained a calf injury during the conditioning tests and will be out for a few weeks.

Brian Thomas Jr. update

The Jaguars' first round receiver is going to have bigger days in camp than he had on the first day. And that is to expected since Wednesday was Brian Thomas Jr's first official training camp practice. Things will be more amplified and intense moving forward, but today was also a more realistic gauge for what he'll see in the NFL than any of the offseason practices are -- even if they're just in helmets and shorts.

It was ultimately a quiet training camp debut for the No, 23 pick, though this could also be attributed to the fact the Jaguars only ran red-zone plays and weren't attempting to push the ball downfield. The uber-athletic wideout had one potential toe-tapping catch go off his hands in the end-zone on one target, while newly-paid cornerback Tyson Campbell had smothering coverage and deflected a pass on his next target. Campbell also knocked away a touchdown pass meant for Gabe Davis, though, so Thomas was hardly alone.

Play of the day

The best play of the first practice goes to .... Austin Trammel! The former Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams receiver made a nifty catch in the right corner of the end zone, getting his feet in on a pass from C.J. Beathard with Tevaugh Campbell in coverage.

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