JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars opened 2021 Training Camp Wednesday.
It was first day of the first training camp under Head Coach Urban Meyer, featuring a non-padded practice at the Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex. Each day throughout camp, four members of Jaguars Media – senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton, team reporter Ashlyn Sullivan, senior reporter/editor J.P. Shadrick – will share an observation.
Here are Wednesday's "campservations:"
Oehser…
It's difficult to not make the Day 1 observation about rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence split first-team repetitions with veteran Gardner Minshew II – and the high-profile rookie showed why many analysts considered him the best quarterback to enter the draft in nearly a decade. Lawrence's release is strikingly quick, and his short passes get to receivers in a hurry. He just looks the part of an elite quarterback in the pocket. And two plays late in a team drill Wednesday – a long touchdown to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett II and a long completion to wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe – showed the accuracy and vision expected. Call Wednesday a good start Lawrence, even if it was in no pads and no contact.
Sexton…
It's day one and all eyes were on the quarterback. Lawrence has it all; the arm, the vision, the athleticism. He made a few tight-window throws that only a few quarterbacks are confident enough to let loose. He's everything I hoped he would be and that's his first training camp practice. It won't be newsworthy for long; once folks get used to him and what he can do, it will be expected.
Shadrick …
Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer was the first person on the fields at the Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex today – and after his long, solitary walk around the three fields you could tell he was locked in and ready for his first NFL training camp practice. The players and coaches better be able to keep up moving forward. On Day One – in a non-padded, helmets-only practice with the defensive secondary playing off coverage exclusively – the coaching staff worked to keep the energy high with as many reps as possible in each drill. Once the pads go on next week, I get the feeling Meyer will turn up the heat in practice and see who can handle it.
Sullivan …
Meyer told us during the offseason programs there are no "winners" and "losers" in a specific practice. That changes during training camp. On Wednesday, it looked like the offense won the day. There is a catch to this, however. Coach Meyer revealed that an NFL fine the Jaguars received after the offseason program was due to too many situations where the Jaguars were in press coverage. As a result, defensive backs were told to "float" with receivers at the start of the camp, something cornerback Shaquill Griffin mentioned was a little difficult with the physicality of a training camp practice. Meyer joked they would follow this protocol until the pads came on, then: "floating will end immediately."
