The 2026 Jacksonville Jaguars’ first week of preseason work delivered a little bit of everything. After spending Thursday battling the New Orleans Saints in a joint practice, where the team began the day with slight struggles, the Jaguars returned to the Caesars Superdome on Saturday for a preseason opener that shared a similar outcome. The result was a 24-20 Jacksonville comeback victory, but the scoreboard was hardly the most important part of the afternoon. For players fighting for roster spots,
playing time and roles, Saturday was an opportunity to build on, or erase, what they showed during the week of joint practices.
From players who strengthened their case in ongoing roster battles to those who left the week with more questions than answers, here are our stock-up and stock-down players following the first week of preseason action.
Stock Up (7)
LB Yasir Abdullah
Linebacker Yasir Abdullah easily had one of the more noticeable Saturday performances of any Jaguars’ defender. Following an early solo tackle on a first-quarter punt, Abdullah later turned a quick quarterback pressure into a red zone forced fumble, which resulted in a Jacksonville field goal.
For a veteran player deep into a competition with the younger, drafted Jalen Mcleod for the backup Sam linebacker and special teams role, this performance couldn’t have been stronger.
RB J’Mari Taylor
Taylor showed early flashes of a big game, with rushes of five and seven yards, before being stymied on a few tough runs near the line of scrimmage. However, following the halftime break, his two reps of pass protection looked stout; he continuously kept his feet moving at the point of contact and frequently picked up hidden yardage.
The undrafted rookie running back was already an intriguing name coming out of camp, but he turned that intrigue into production Saturday, rushing for 78-yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. He also converted the two-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to six, showing his consistent nose for the end zone.
Jaguars’ Early Defense
Yes, Jacksonville allowed 20 points before halftime. Yes Jacksonville’s defense gave up many explosives in joint practices early on. But neither comment fully provide the nuance of what occurred on Thursday and Saturday for the starting and second team defenses. In joint practices, many of the more successful explosive passes for New Orleans should have been blown dead due to sacks. That context matters. Similarly, Saturday’s opening kickoff return immediately put the defense in a difficult position, beginning the opening drive at their own nine-yard line, where Jacksonville eventually gave up an early touchdown.
However, after that, Jacksonville’s defensive unit was quite dominant throughout the remainder of the first quarter, following that 9-yard drive. Saints backup quarterback Spencer Rattler proceeded to go 0-1, with two sacks surrendered and a fumble lost on the three remaining first-quarter drives. Discounting the 9-yard touchdown drive, the team forced two three-and-outs and gave the offense the ball back at the seven-yard line with 1:39 left in the first quarter, before substitutions increased.
S Jalen Huskey
Safety Jalen Huskey on Saturday took a major step towards making himself increasingly difficult to overlook. Huskey kicked off the day with two early special teams tackles, though one was taken off the board with an accepted penalty. His hustle to tackle the returner on the opening 86-yard return to save the touchdown was notable. However, his second-quarter pass breakup while covering Oscar Delp likely was an interception had he not lost the ball while impacting the ground. His effort through the whistle on that snap was huge in limiting the Saints to a field goal on the drive. Saturday extremely strong performance by the rookie who’s currently competing with Caleb Ransaw and Ray Lane for the third safety role on the depth chart. So far, the early returns are encouraging for the third round pick.
DL Albert Regis
Albert Regis was already trending in the right direction before Saturday, with Coach Coen specifically pointing out Regis’s recent week of play following Tuesday’s practice. That context somewhat makes his performance against New Orleans more meaningful.
His third-quarter sack, shedding the center, accelerating to the quarterback, and sealing the deal, was an eye-opener. If Albert can do that with any semblance of regularity, the Jaguars will have landed a major piece for this defensive front.
OT Cole Van-Lanen
Following an offseason of offensive line shuffling at right and left tackle, and Anton Harrison possibly starting the season off at left tackle, Van-Lanen stock rose this week largely because his absence highlighted just how important he could be to Jacksonville’s offensive line. With injuries creating major uncertainty up front and the Jaguars still sorting through their best combinations, getting Van Lanen back as early as possible becomes increasingly important. Not only is his stock up due to Walker Little’s and Chuma Edoga’s current questionable injury statuses, but he also capitalized on a Week 18 left tackle contract where he could, potentially return as the team’s starting right tackle. In either case, his previous production and versatility give Jacksonville a more-proven option at a position that suddenly carries plenty of questions marks.
OC Grant Udinski
The Jacksonville offensive coordinator’s stock received a major boost after an encouraging week that gave him a chance to step into a more visible role, with Liam Coen handing over play-calling duties for the preseason. The offensive coordinator already received head coaching interest in the last coaching cycle. However, additional games calling plays on his resume could be just the thing to show proof of concept in interviews. On Saturday, despite many early errors in execution by the Jacksonville first-half quarterbacks, the Jaguars offense responded after halftime and ultimately rallied, scoring 18-points after halftime to secure the victory.
For Udinski, the bigger takeaway was his success in this opportunity to manage an offense that was struggling to protect the ball and limted in the number of guys available to adequately protect the quarterback. The first-half struggles allowed him the chance to make adjustments, something he did with flying colors. It also allowed him the chance to show an ability to adjust on the fly, as he did, eventually leaning on the ground game to open the half. With his reputation already growing around the league, this week provided another positive step in his development. Further, it reinforced why Jacksonville views him as such an important piece of its offensive staff.
As an aside, Udinski obviously called the play to Liam, advising him to deploy the ole fake-calling timeout trick, in an attempt to confuse the Saints’ wide receiver on the final play of regulation.
Stock Up Honorable Mention(s):
- DL Ruke Orhorhoro
- DE Bryan Thomas Jr
- WR CJ Williams
Stock Down (4)
QB Nick Mullens
This was not the kind of preseason opener Nick Mullens needed, following an offseason of fan and media discontent with the Jacksonville backup quarterback role. As a backup quarterback, Mullens’ primary role on the team is to be an asset to the quarterback room in learning the playbook, while leveraging his experience and knowledge of the system to protect the football and keep the wheels from falling off. The Jaguars’ backup quarterback simply had a day to forget on Saturday. Mullens consistently struggled to hit open receivers in this one, throwing an early red zone interception where Josh Cameron looked to be wide open on the play. Mullens seemed not to notice the underneath defender on the play, both under throwing the attempt and placing it behind the intended receiver.
He later took a third-down sack, where it seemed the veteran quarterback struggled to pull the trigger on the available options. A red-zone interception, a sack given up, 3/7 for 33-yards (17.9 passer rating) against primarily Saints’ backups. That combination of three points scored in a quarter of play pretty clearly shows a problematic day at the office. Yet, the biggest concern isn’t simply that Mullens had a bad preseason game. It’s that the Jaguars, and their fans, need to know they can survive if Lawrence misses time. One ugly August afternoon doesn’t erase his experience or his previous work in the offense. But it certainly doesn’t help his case for patience or trust.
OL Confidence
If there was one position group that left New Orleans creating legitimate concern, it was the offensive line. The offense entered the week already dealing with injuries and significant experimentation up front. In Thursday’s joint practice performance, Saints’ Edge Chase Young claimed to have around six sacks, with the team having 8-10 total, per reports. The Jaguars then lost Chuma Edoga early in the first quarter of the matchup and subsequently struggled to block the Saints’ defensive line, giving up three first-half sacks.
Following Edoga’s departure, the depth of Jacksonville’s offensive line was then quickly tested, with multiple pre-snap penalties ensuing. With multiple Jacksonville offensive linemen already hobbled coming into this game, the Jaguars’ OL numbers crunch could become more dire unless reinforcements arrive. While Jonah Monheim, Emmanuel Pregnon, and Wyatt Milum all flashed without clear deficiencies, the overall lack of dependable tackle depth seemed a clear issue.
All Jaguars Offensive Penalties vs Saints: (6 total)
- OL Geron Christian: False Start (1), Offensive Holding (1)
- OL Jimto Obidegwu: False Start (2)
- OL Ricky Lee: Offensive Holding (1)
- OL Sam Mustipher: Offensive Holding (1)
DB Corey Ballentine
Ballentine’s stock took a sizable hit on Saturday, following a tough second quarter performance that seemed to feature Zach Wilson primarily targeting Ballentine.
The 30-year-old Ballentine was signed to Jacksonville as a veteran defensive back with NFL experience, which is generally valuable in a competition filled with young defensive backs. However, in a room where Christian Braswell and Jabbar Muhammad are vying for the final cornerback spot(s) on the 53-man roster, there were simply more negatives from Saturday than positives in the deep passing game. Ballentine still has time to respond. But after this week, he needs to.
CB Jabbar Muhammad
Speaking of Muhammad, Jabbar had one of the strangest stock reports of the week because Saturday ultimately ended with him making multiple of Jacksonville’s biggest plays. First, Muhammad had an up-and-down performance during Thursday’s joint practice, both winning and losing his share of battles against the Saints’ receiving core:
- Forced an incompletion on a Chris Olave touchdown target (however, the film looked to show the catch in bounds)
- Forced an incompletion on a Bryce Lance touchdown target (however, he was called for defensive holding)
- Surrendered a 40-yard Bub Means touchdown after missing the attempt at a deflection, while undercutting the 12-yard curl route and allowing the catch
On Saturday, Muhammad struggled somewhat early, failing to force an incompletion on multiple attempts. The second-year defensive back surrendered multiple contested catches in the first half, albeit on slants. He was later flagged for pass interference on an early third-quarter slant, flagged for another with 13-seconds remaining, and gave up a 17-yard contested catch to Trey Palmer with 21 seconds left and the Saints driving into the red zone.
However, on the positive side, most of his negative plays were generally limited to 10 yards or less. Additionally, and most importantly, he bounced back to make the game-clinching pass breakup with no time on the clock. However, as he continues to compete with Christian Braswell for the depth cornerback role, more balanced or dominant days are likely hoped for in the coming matchups. Muhammad’s stock has been on fire throughout this offseason. His stock isn’t falling because the Jacksonville staff suddenly dislikes him. It’s falling because the cornerback competition will demand consistency. Muhammad will need to provide more of it than what was seen week to win the role.
Which player(s) are you high on following Saturday’s game, Jaguars fans? More so, who are you looking at to make the jump this coming week? Let us know in the comments!
