Jaguars Training Camp, Day 4: Observations on Young Defenders Making Plays and More

Chad Muma, Antonio Johnson and a host of other young defenders are continuing to make noise in Jaguars camp.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have wrapped up their first "week" of training camp, going through practice No. 4 on Saturday before their first off day tomorrow. 

What did we see in one of the Jaguars' final padless practices and what does it all mean moving forward? We break it down below. 

Antonio Johnson, Chad Muma make plays 

The first two interceptions of training camp took place on Saturday, with a pair of young defenders coming up with the big plays. The defense has gotten its hands on a few passes during the first week of camp, but it wasn't until this afternoon that they picked off one of the Jaguars' three quarterbacks. It happened twice on Saturday, with Antonio Johnson picking off C.J. Beathard and Chad Muma intercepting Trevor Lawrence as he tried to fit a pass over him to Calvin Ridley.

Muma gang!@ticketmaster | @chad_muma pic.twitter.com/Ye8yZzTrSG

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) July 29, 2023

It would be unfair to judge all training camp interceptions the same. Training camp is practice after all, and you see players and the team in general attempt to accomplish things that they otherwise wouldn't. Still, it is encouraging for the Jaguars' fortunes to see some of their recent draft picks on defense make standout plays in practice, especially Muma and Johnson.

Gerrit Prince, tight ends continue strong camp 

The tight end room has been one of the highlights of the first week of camp. On Friday, second-year tight end Gerrit Prince caught two touchdowns as Brenton Strange and Evan Engram added touchdowns of their own. On Saturday, the room continued its strong camp as Prince caught his third touchdown of camp on a pass from C.J. Beathard. The tight ends were also targeted on five consecutive plays during one team drills, with all of four top tight ends (Prince, Strange, Engram, and Luke Farrell) seeing at least one target. 

"Good room. You know, I like, obviously, you know, Evan kind of picked up where he left off, and you know, Luke is another one. That young player who this is gonna be, this will be big for him, you know, an opportunity, great opportunity for him," Jaguars head coach Pederson said before practice. 

"Brenton Strange is learning and improving every day. There's gonna be, obviously, you know, there's gonna be a setback here and there. It's just part of the process, right? And then we got some young guys, Gerrit Prince, who's been here. Again, another second-year player who was on the practice squad a year ago, you know, has done some good things."

The young cornerback on the rise 

The Jaguars have plenty of options to trot out at cornerback behind their starting trio of Tyson Campbell, Darious Williams and Tre Herndon. From their duo of second-year cornerbacks in Gregory Junior and Montaric Brown to Tevaugn Campbell to rookies Christian Braswell and Erick Hallett II, the Jaguars have a seemingly endless number of combinations to try in the secondary over camp. 

The cornerback who has stood out so far? It seems like it would be Junior, the second-year sixth-year pick from Ouachita Baptist. Juinor has looked smooth in coverage throughout the first week and seemingly has inside/outside potential. Pederson said on Saturday that Junior has "caught the attention" so far and he also drew praise from defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell on Friday. His arrow appears to be pointing up.

Calvin Ridley draws deserved praise

Ask anyone who has watched Calvin Ridley over the first week of training camp can attest to the simple fact that the veteran receiver looks like a special talent. Anything and everything has been said about his route-running, explosiveness and overall ability, and it has all been true. As a result, Ridley earned some deserved and rare praise from Pederson when he was asked who has stood out to him thus far. 

"Just the way he practices, you know, and it's just, it's a different speed," Pederson said. "It's a different level and it's encouraging to me as a coach, because it feeds to the rest of the guys, particularly the young guys. You know, he's one that's really stood out there."

Pederson had a coy smile when he was first asked the question. Typically, Pederson doesn't single guys out, especially this early on in camp. But Ridley (and Tyson Campbell on defense) have been good enough to elicit such a response from Pederson. Ridley has been the biggest story of camp and it has been deserved in every respect. 

Play of the day 

The best play during Saturday's practice came via Trevor Lawrence and second-year wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr., who made arguably the best play he has made in a practice in his two camps with the Jaguars. Lawrence uncorked a beautiful deep pass to a streaking Austin downfield, with Austin catching it in between the zones of two defensive backs and then shielding the ball for an impressive touchdown. It was a big-time throw and catch from both parties. 

Other notes

• Kendric Pryor keeps making catches. It wouldn't surprise me if he has a big preseason because he has had plenty of targets through four days with the reserve offense and has caught seemingly everything thrown his direction.
• It normally isn't overly important to see where guys line up and what type of combinations 
• It truly is a spectacle to see the Jaguars practice in front of a packed house of fans at the Miller Electric Center. The crowd is lively each day and based off their reactions, Calvin Ridley is already a star in Jacksonville. They go unglued each time he touches the ball. 
• One player to watch when pads come on: Parker Washington. Wide receivers coach Chad Hall said at the end of the offseason that he thinks Washington's came translates even better to padded practices thanks to what he can do after the catch. Washington has been impressive throughout the first week of camp and there still could be another level to what he can do.
• Tevaughn Campbell and Zay Jones had some good battles on Saturday. The Jaguars are looking for a top backup on the outside and Campbell could have a chance to  be that guy. Campbell was beat deep by Jones on one pass before committing pass interference downfield, but he did break up a later deep target to Jones near the sideline.
• K'Lavon Chaisson would have recorded a likely sack during team drills. 
• Tank Bigsby broke off a long run during team drills, electing big cheers from the offensive sideline.