JaguarsTalk: Jacksonville Jaguars Final 53-Man Roster
JT: Cut Down Tuesday is upon us. Who earned the uniform?
At the end of OTAs we wrote two columns, one for each the offense and defense, outlining exactly who occupy the final 53 Jacksonville Jaguars roster spots. Let’s play this game again, almost three months later, now that preseason has ended. The meat of the team hasn’t changed much, but the preseason has brought to light some interesting storylines that may/should/will affect Jacksonville’s final roster. The final 53 are in bold. Let’s get started with the offense.
Quarterback: Trevor Lawrence has shown marked improvement from his rookie season. The Jaguars could surely use more touchdowns than field goal attempts come the regular season, especially considering the kicking issues, but we’ll touch on that later in the column. CJ Beathard will be backing up Lawrence. He certainly wasn’t amazing in the preseason but he wasn’t 100% healthy either. Here’s to hoping he won’t be needed this year as both he and third string quarterback EJ Perry (after the Jake Luton head spinning signing and cutting fiasco) were nothing to write home about, only bolstering the feeling that Gardner Minshew never should have been allowed to leave for Philly. Many NFL teams are trending toward keeping only two quarterbacks on the final roster, an idea that might tickle Doug Pederson’s fancy considering the WR decisions he has to make. That said, I don’t see JAX running with only two QBs since Beathard has a nagging injury. That’s too bad considering EJ Perry ain’t great and Jacksonville could always use some padding in lineman positions and WR.
Running Back: Travis Etienne Jr. is 100% healthy and 100% starting the Jags regular season. He looks quick, fast, and impactful. If James Robinson can fully heal then he and ETN will be a dominating duo in any backfield. The two of them, fully healthy, will keep any defense honest and allow Trevor Lawrence to have a much more productive passing game. Snoop Conner, fifth round draft pick out of Ole Miss, will round out the crew. This North/South bull rusher will be a welcome addition allowing the other two needed rest, so they can remain healthy. Most teams keep four running backs on the roster as it’s a brutal position. Add the fact that JAX’s top two RBs are coming off major injuries and there is a case for Pederson to roster four RBs. That said, he won’t.
Wide Receiver: This is where things get extremely interesting for Head Coach Doug Pederson and the Jags. Many receivers have really shined this preseason including Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Marvin Jones Jr. The three starters have developed really good rapport with Trevor Lawrence over the preseason, and with ETN and Robinson forcing opposing defenses to honor the run, these guys should get plenty of opportunity. The second level is where things get murky. 2020 second round draft pick, Laviska Shenault Jr., seems to be the consensus odd man out. This will be a tough pill to swallow; however, Shenault is destined to be signed by another of the 31 teams this year. With Shenault off the roster a spot is open for Tim Jones. Jones was on the Jaguars practice squad last year but has absolutely been on fire this preseason. He led all Jacksonville receivers and was the top receiver in three of the four preseason games, making him very difficult to ignore come 4pm. on cut-down Tuesday. Joining Jones in the second string ranks will be Jamal Agnew and Laquon Treadwell.
Tight End: Jacksonville will keep three. Evan Engram will start for the Jags and depending upon how quickly his hands soften throughout the season, we could see a healthy dose of Chris Manhertz and Dan Arnold.
Offensive Line: Things get a little interesting here for Jacksonville as well, not so much in terms of who will get a jersey but who will start. JaguarsTalk firmly believes the starters on the O-line to be Cam Robinson LT, Tyler Shatley LG, Luke Fortner C, Brandon Scherff RG and Jawaan Taylor RT barely beating out Walker Little for the spot they’ve been battling for all preseason. After that things get a little hairy as O-Line is a position where you want to keep as many players as possible. Luckily for Jacksonville they have accumulated lineman with versatility. Several of their guys can plug and play in multiple positions allowing the Jags to carry fewer O-line guys and dress more players in other positions. This versatility will leave many good players without a roster spot on Tuesday. Joining Little in riding pine will be Ben Bartch, Nick Ford, KC McDermott and newly acquired Cole Van Lanen.
Total for the offense: 25
Roster spots are a little easier to predict for the Jacksonville defense. Unlike the offensive line and wide receiver battles, forcing Pederson to make difficult decisions, the defense seems pretty set in its ways.
Defensive line: Since the Jags run a 3-4 defensive scheme, they need fewer linemen and more linebackers. This in mind those “few” linemen will be led by, Folorunso Fatukasi on one side, DaVon Hamilton at the nose tackle position and Roy Robertson-Harris on flank. It is an injury prone position and Fatukasi is currently nursing a leg issue as we type this column so three or four more guys will need to solidify this position. Adam Gotsis, Dawuane Smoot, Arden Key (who had one hell of a preseason tallying 3 sacks in 3 games) and on the bubble is Jay Tufele. It will all depend upon whether or not JAX goes with six or seven big men.
Linebacker: The pride and joy of the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars team. The play of this position will determine the outcome of the Jaguars season. If these guys are on-point, then Jacksonville fans will be very pleased. Travon Walker and Josh Allen will be studs on the outside funneling the play toward the two shut down tacklers in the middle, Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd. These four will be feared around the league by mid-season. When they need a break, the back-ups aren’t too shabby. Chad Muma got a ton of first team reps this preseason while LLoyd was nursing a hamstring injury. Shaquille Quarterman and K’Lavon Chaisson would be starting on many other teams. Jamir Jones rounds out the eight linebackers that Jacksonville will roster.
Defensive Backs: Every year the NFL becomes less and less a, four yards and a cloud of dust league, and more and more a four or five wide passing league. Defensive backs are therefore important and numerous. The starters are fairly simple to choose, Shaquill Griffin and Darious Williams, though Tyson Campbell has made a rather compelling case for the start. Maybe it isn’t as easy as we thought. Rayshawn Jenkins and Andre Cisco start at the safety positions with the latter having an outstanding preseason. The Jags will also roster Andrew Wingard, Tre Herndon, Montaric Brown, Chris Claybrooks and Daniel Thomas.
Special Teams: The trouble spot for Jacksonville all preseason long has been the place kicker position. Pederson has auditioned five PKs, but JaguarsTalk strongly believes that the winner for, at least the opener against Washington, will be James McCourt. He nailed both of his two attempts in the final preseason game while Jake Verity, from the Colts, sent his only attempt wide left. If you go back and watch the tape, Verity’s face, when he missed that kick, says it all. He cut himself right then and there. McCourt will need someone to snap him the ball and thus by default long snapper Ross Matiscik will get a jersey. With the final roster spot of the Jacksonville Jaguars 53-man roster, punter Logan Cooke earns his way onto the team. For Jacksonville’s sake, Cooke could surely use less work in 2022 than JAX allowed in previous years.
Total for defense and special teams: 28
Well, there you have it. The ultimate 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars team brought to you by the thoughtful minds at JaguarsTalk. Head Coach Doug Pederson has the prerogative to tweak the above roster here and there, but make no mistake, when one strays from perfection, it often comes back to bite one in the buttocks. Lock it in!
Who do you think we left out? Tell us in the comment section below.