Jaguars Notebook: Observations From Day 2 of Joint Practices With Buccaneers

What did we see from the Jacksonville Jaguars defense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Day 2 of joint practices?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson laughs with Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles during a combined NFL football training camp session between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Thursday saw the Jacksonville Jaguars host their last official practice of training camp (camp breaks this week, next week will be a regular-season type setting), with the day also marking joint practice No. 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After having our eyes on the offense on Wednesday, we took a close look at the defense today. And for context, today was a shorts and helmet day after each team wore pads the previous day.

So, what did we see at the Miller Electric Center? We break it down below.

Jaguars create turnovers

Let us preface this and say the Jaguars' secondary didn't dominate the Buccaneers offense. Tampa Bay hit several big plays over the middle to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, while Trey Palmer run through zone coverage from Darnell Savage and Montaric Brown for an easy touchdown from Trask. Jalen McMillan also made a few nice grabs. With that said, the Jaguars hit some big plays of their own thanks to a secondary that created three turnovers.

First, Andre Cisco made a great heads-up play in 7-on-7 drills to intercept Baker Mayfield for what likely would be a 99-yard pick-six in a real game. Cisco showed good pre-snap recognition and was right there in coverage to take advantage of a bobbled catch. Second-year defensive back Erick Hallett also picked off Trask twice; the first came on a poorly-thrown pass that was behind the tight end, while the second came off a tip from Devin Lloyd at the line of scrimmage.

The Jaguars came close to having four interceptions, too, with Brown dropping a would-be pick-six against Mayfield. While he didn't finish the play, it was excellent coverage and recognition from Brown to step into Mayfield's throwing lane. Mayfield didn't see him at all.

Travon Walker, Josh Hines-Allen have a good day against the run

There were no pass-rush drills since it was a practice without pads, but we still got to see the Jaguars fit against the run during team drills. And through several reps against the Buccaneers starting offense, two Jaguars consistently stood out as run defenders: Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. The duo is one of the best pass-rush pairs in the NFL, but their work in the run game has gone unnoticed for two years now. It shouldn't.

The first notable run stuff came from Hines Allen, who stopped a run to the outside after shedding a block from All-World offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and effectively putting Wirfs on the ground. Just a few plays later, the Buccaneers attempted a toss to the ride side and saw Walker completely collapse the line of scrimmage and make the tackle for loss. These two are adapting well to Ryan Nielsen's unit.

Breaking down Jarrian Jones' day

One of the most targeted defensive backs on the day was cornerback Jarrian Jones, which meant he got plenty of reps that he didn't get in coverage in the preseason opener. Jones is likely set to be the Jaguars' top backup cornerback on the outside, so it is critical for him to be prepared for the moment in the event of injury. Active days like Thursday will help him do that.

Jones' first noticeable rep came in red-zone 7-on-7 drills, with the rookie cornerback being beat by Buccaneers receiver Kameron Johnson in the left corner of the end zone. It was a good route by Johnson and an even better finish, but Jones was ready to cover him on their next rep together.

In team drills, Kyle Trask attempted to hit Johnson crossing the middle of the field, but Jones was in phase with the receiver and stripped the ball out of his hands to force an incompletion. Jones then showed some bravado and let Johnson know who won the rep. On the next big target in team drills, Jones deflected a Baker Mayfield practice to end the day on a positive note.

Jaguars have some success on special teams

We got to see each team attempt to run through kickoffs on Thursday, which led to some revealing factors for both sides. We will start with the Jaguars kickoff coverage team against the Buccaneers return team. The Jaguars had some solid coverage, with Chad Muma and Tim Jones both making good stops. The Jaguars also didn't see some of the lows the Bucs saw, which included a muffed return from Bucky Irving and a touchback.

As for the Jaguars, they continued to show some development with the new kickoff rules. Devin Duvernay and Tank Bigsby were the first-team returners and each popped off long runs, with Caleb Johnson and Yasir Abdullah delivering big blocks. The second-team unit had Parker Washington and Christian Braswell returning kicks and Washington had a sizeable gain on his one return as well. The Jaguars seemed ahead of Tampa Bay in this department.

Play of the Day

Andre Cisco's interception was the most impressive play of the day. The running back (Sean Tucker) is the one who bobbled the ball, but Cisco called out the motion, set up the defense, and then broke through a pick route to get on Tucker's hip and get in perfect position to grab the pass.

Other Notes

• We were watching the side of the field the Jaguars' defense was on during Thursday's practice, but we did happen to catch a couple of plays coming toward the end zone where media can stand. We saw Evan Engram make two nice catches -- including one in the end-zone -- and also saw Brenton Strange bring in a huge gain on a deep ball from C.J. Beathard.

• We also caught Brian Thomas Jr.'s deep touchdown. The Buccaneers simply could not run with him, and it was an interesting wrinkle to see him lined up in the slot.

• Raymond Johnson, Yasir Abdullah, and Ronald Darby all made some impressive stops in the running game.

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