The Jacksonville Jaguars were a no-show in Sunday afternoon’s 20-12 loss against the Seattle Seahawks as they looked out of sync in all three phases of the game. Whether it be penalties, drops, missed
kicks, whiffs on blocking assignments — you name it — the Jags performance was as sloppy as we’ve seen in the Liam Coen era.
Some of that sloppiness came from the rookies as they followed up a great showing last Monday night with a less than stellar outing this week, including a significant gaffe from Travis Hunter. Let’s dive into their performance in this weeks Jaguars Rookie Report.
Travis Hunter
The Jaguars’ two-way star had his least productive day at wide receiver this season on Sunday despite a season-high 88% route rate. He was targeted seven times and caught just four of them for a season-low 15 yards. That alone would be a rough day for Hunter but he was also responsible for taking seven points off the board when he was called for an offensive offsides penalty after a Brian Thomas Jr. circus touchdown. The drive would result in a touchdown anyway but it did eat away another few minutes of game clock that the Jags ended up needing at the end of the game.
Thinks went a lot better for Hunter on the defensive side of the ball, although he played just 22 snaps. He was targeted four times and allowed one catch for 12 yards and had a beautiful contest against Jaxon Smith-Njigba that should have resulted in a Jaguars interception off of the deflection.
Alas, things are still a work in progress for the Jaguars and Travis Hunter. The glimpses are there but they’re too far and few between for a player the team invested so heavily in. At some point they’ll need to really take the training wheels off on at least one side of the ball.
Wyatt Milum
Wyatt Milum logged his first career NFL snaps on Sunday after being inactive the first five weeks of the season due to a knee injury. The former West Virginia left tackle saw just a couple of special teams snaps but before his injury in camp he was turning heads and impressing the staff. Considering the recent struggles of the offensive line, Milum could be a name to look out for if things continue to be a struggle; particularly at that left tackle spot.
Bhayshul Tuten
Running back Bhayshul Tuten has had some glimpses of playmaking ability this season but Sunday was a quiet day for the speedster out of Virginia Tech. He had two carries and caught two balls for a total of 28 yards while logging his second-fewest snaps on the season (11).
Tuten was also called for an illegal double team block on a kick return and also had a failed two-point conversion carry attempt, although the play call was more to blame for that.
Jack Kiser
Week 6 was much of the same for linebacker Jack Kiser as he didn’t register any snaps on defense for the fifth time in six games. His role continues to be solely as a special teams contributor as he logged a season-high 20 special teams snaps. Kiser’s impact has been minimal thus far as he has just 3 tackles through the first six weeks of the season.
Rayuan Lane
Quietly, rookie safety Rayuan Lane is having an impactful season for the Jaguars. He has made a significant impact as a gunner on special teams all season and Sunday was no different as he tallied two tackles, including one highlight tackle on the punt unit where he tackled the returner for a one yard loss after a huge punt from Logan Cooke where he was punting from his own end zone. It helped flipped the field for Jacksonville and would lead to a Seattle punt.
Lane was called for a block in the back penalty later in the game but the team would still score a touchdown on that drive so no harm, no foul.
Jonah Monheim
An injury to starting center Robert Hainsey the week prior forced the seventh-rounder out of USC into his first start of his young NFL career and boy was it a welcome to the league moment for Jonah Monheim. The Jaguars offensive line as whole allowed 33 pressures on 42 Trevor Lawrence drop backs with Monheim being credited for four of them.
To be fair to the rookie, it makes his job infinitely harder when the veterans around him are also struggling to do their jobs and Monehim wasn’t even close to the worst lineman on the day for Jacksonville. That said, if Monehim is going to get the nod again in London against the Rams, the team will need him to step up his play a little bit against another good defensive front.
LeQuint Allen Jr.
LeQuint Allen Jr. continues to be primarily used as a kick return specialist and in pass protection on obvious passing downs. He had four kick returns on the day for an average of 24 yards per return and had two touches on offense including a 10-yard reception that set Jacksonville up with a manageable fourth down attempt that they would convert to then set up a touchdown.
His impact on paper may seem minimal but Allen’s willingness as a blocker has been huge for the team as he is developing a reputation as one of the more physical backs in that department around the league.
Let us know your thoughts on the rookies in the comments below!
