Jaguars Notebook: Observations From Day 3 of Training Camp

What did we see during the third day of Jaguars training camp?

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (23) stretches during the third day of an NFL football training camp practice Friday, July 26, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA

The Jacksonville Jaguars are inching closer and closer to fully padded practices and past the ramp-up period of training camp, with Friday marking the third practice of training camp.

After working exclusively on the red-zone for two days, the Jaguars stretched the field a bit today and let both the offense and defense duke it out with a full field.

So, what did we see during the third day of practice at the Miller Electric Center? We break it down below.

Lawrence, first-team offense start to find a groove

The Jaguars' offense would never be mistaken for The Greatest Show on Turf during Friday's practice, but it was certainly a better effort than the previous two days -- in both the run and the pass. It is hard to get a great gauge for a running game until pads come on (the Jaguars' issues running the ball in camp last season are well-documented), but there are still plus and negative results. After getting stuffed over and over again on Thursday, both Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby broke out long runs in 11-on-11 drills, with Bigsby getting positive yardage on several other plays as well.

The addition of the whole field didn't make the passing game perfect, but it was better than the previous two days. Lawrence is still working on finding chemistry with rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr., with Thomas coming up short on one pass over the middle. Lawrence also has to be better in his own right, with the quarterback missing Evan Engram over the middle on an earlier pass by throwing it behind him.

Lawrence also had some of his best moments of camp on Friday, too, completing one deep completion to Evan Engram when throwing downfield and across his body. Lawrence also connected with Kirk on a big gain to the same area of the field a few reps earlier, finishing the final 11-on-11 period by going 6-of-6. It wasn't a great day, but it was the best day of camp for the starting offense so far.

Patience will be needed in some aspects, specifically with Thomas Jr., but Lawrence's chemistry with Kirk and Engram showed up big-time on Friday. Between the 20s, that should continue to be the case. The next step would be to translate this over to red-zone production, but that is clearly still an area the Jaguars are touch-and-go on at this moment.

Injury updates

There were a few injuries that took place at camp on Friday, with the cornerback room being hit especially. Nothing seems overly serious, but these are all injuries that we will be monitoring over the next several practices.

• Rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones injured his ankle during one-on-ones, requiring help off the field and limping toward the indoor facility. Jones eventually returned to the field, first watching from the sidelines with helmet in hand and then eventually returning to the field for team drills. He seemed OK by the end of the day, speaking with Jaguars On SI for an interview. Most players dealing with notable injuries do not do that.

• Wide receiver Seth Williams had the wind knocked out of him on a deep pass, but later returned to practice.

• Offensive tackle Cam Robinson dealt with some cramping but also returned to practice

• Cornerback Tyson Campbell is dealing with an ankle injury and was limited to only positional drills, not taking any reps during team drills. This will be the injury to keep an eye on considering both Campbell's injury history and his status as the team's No. 1 cornerback.

Travon Walker has a good showing

One of the most consistently impactful players on the field on Friday was third-year pass-rusher Travon Walker, who looked like a legitimate force on more than one occasion -- even without pads on. Walker turned his day into two pass deflections at the line of scrimmage -- including one against Trevor Lawrence -- and then a would-be sack of Lawrence during 11-on-11 drills.

Walker is a player who traditionally has ramped it up in camp when the pads come on, which is to be expected considering his skill set and his traits. But he was a legitimate thorn in the Jaguars' side on Friday, making plays throughout practice and in both the run and pass. It is shaping up to be a productive camp for Walker in his first year under Ryan Nielsen.

Mac Jones struggles

While most of Thursday's focus was on the struggles on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Friday's struggles on offense mostly fell on backup quarterback Mac Jones. There is something to be said for the fact that Jones is working with the depth pieces of the offense, but Friday was a tough practice for the former Alabama star aside from a nice deep touchdown pass to Denzel Mims.

Jones had a few passes batted at the line, missed Parker Washington short on one potential gain, threw an interception on an errant screen pass, and also missed Mims later in practice for what would have been the most wide-open connection of any quarterback and receiver in camp. CJ Beathard didn't light it up either, but he also didn't have some of the lows that Jones had. Jones is in Jacksonville to provide a safe backup option for Trevor Lawrence, but they will need to see better days than Friday to trust him as that option.

Play of the day

Wednesday's play of the day goes to one of the most experienced players on the team: defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter, who was in the right place at the right time on a tipped pass in team drills. A high screen pass from Mac Jones went off wide receiver Austin Trammell's hands and landed in Ledbetter's, with the big man rumblin' and stumblin' his way to the end zone for a touchdown.

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