The pads came on today at the Miller Electric Center for Day 5 of Jacksonville Jaguars training camp. Real football is rapidly approaching.
“I thought those guys did a nice job of getting some work in while protecting each other,” head coach Liam Coen said post-practice. “I thought we got some good quality work. Good to see some of those guys make some plays one-on-one in those situations.”
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis was a bit more hesitant to praise the team’s first padded practice of the 2026 season.
“It felt like we were overthinking. We were overthinking about it. Just some of the detailed things that we did over the last few days kind of slipped—especially me. A lot of times I’m talking from my perspective, as a leader. It just slipped today. You can see that going through all of the guys from the younger to the older guys. I got to bring that discipline, that intentionality to our practices. It was just, ‘Oh, we got pads on, let’s go hit, let’s go get our hands on them’ instead of just being on our details.”
There was definitely a little more excitement in the air this morning. The first day of pads is an unofficial celebration for every NFL club. And the player whom Coen seemed most excited to see in pads did not disappoint.
Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. has been brought along slowly in offseason training programs after undergoing foot surgery. The free agent pickup only participated in individual drills for the first three days of training camp, but Rodriguez Jr. saw his first rep in team drills on Sunday, and he left a mark on Monday.
On his first of a handful of carries on the day, the 5’11”, 224-pound bowling ball weaved through a rushing lane before unleashing his momentum upon a defensive back, making him look like a rack of pins hurling backward.
The slobberknocker brought a chorus of “oohs” and ”aahs” from the peanut gallery. Jaguars fans gave Rodriguez Jr. a standing O as former Jaguars legends nodded in appreciation from the sideline. I joked to one ex-player, “That run was like a cup of coffee, huh?” He replied with a straight face: “I like seeing that shit.”
It was, like, an 8-yard run. In the beginning of August. Without referees, or scoreboards, or announcers, or TV timeouts. It’d be easy to say it doesn’t matter much. But anyone who witnessed the play might say it set the tone not just for this morning, but for this season.
“Yeah, I mean, he did kind of what you think he’s going to do in a way,” Coen said of Rodriguez Jr., whom he coached at Kentucky in 2021. “I mean, I don’t think he meant to necessarily—I don’t think he even really lowered his shoulder on Caleb [Ransaw]. It was just one of those hits.”
“I think he was feeling better. He’s continuously getting better, and we’re just trying to be smart with, all right, getting him to work, getting him acclimated while not trying to aggravate it, knowing that we’re so early on. And I know he was excited about getting the pads on.”
Notes & Quotes
- I came away from OL/DL 1-vs-1 drills with two major impressions. 1: When Anton Harrison is on, he looks like one of the best offensive tackles in all of football. His foot speed and general smoothness have always stood out, but ‘Ton is also shining when it comes to hand usage and finishing plays. Today, he cross-trained at left tackle without missing a beat. Harrison didn’t let up any ground against Josh-Hines Allen, and he made Danny Striggow (who did play well in team drills) look like it was you or me out there. “He was dominant,” linebackers coach Mark Duffner told 1010XL. “I think he’s done a nice job,” said Coen. “It’s part of what we’ve done, moving those guys around and seeing what sticks. And if that ends up sticking, hopefully that’s a good thing for us.” 2: Ruke Orhororo is another trench player who’s flashing. He came to Jacksonville via an April trade with Atlanta and already looks ready to contribute. A sudden swipe move during 1-vs-1 drills led to a quick whistle from a coach and an approving roar from the fans. “Nice to see him flash,” Coen said. “It’s always a little bit more realistic when you get the pads on. I mean, pass pro sucks with no pads on. It just does. So, it’s nice to see him win when you’re expecting the pass rush to maybe be a little less than it’s been because of the pads being on.”
- Beyond the baptism by Rodriguez Jr., the play of the day came from Brian Thomas Jr. on a one-handed catch deep down the sideline. His reception came against Montaric Brown, a.k.a. “Buster, a.k.a “our number one [cornerback]” according to Lewis. It was notably the first time that Thomas Jr. and Trevor Lawrence connected on a long ball during team drills in training camp. Coen said, “When you can throw the ball over somebody’s head, it’s a threat, man. And it’s something that we need. We need not just him to be able to do that but win on some of the other reps. He’s run a lot of routes out here that maybe weren’t getting targeted to him that he’s won as well that I’ve been pleased with. So, I think it brings everybody up. It elevates everybody’s game when BT is playing at his highest level.”
- This morning’s rainy conditions did lead to some issues for the offense. A few snaps were fumbled, a handoff was nearly botched, and Lawrence missed two downfield throws to Parker Washington that seemed to be partly tied to the weather. But Coen was glad to have had the opportunity to play with a wet ball. “Like, it’s football, right? It has to be an edge for us, here in Florida. And knowing that, shoot, last year, we had a delay in Week 1. We’ve got to get that working … You’re concerned, guys anchoring and slipping out. But it’s football. I mean, stuff happens.”
- Most of Duval County has heard by now that Coen considers the running game to be one of the Jaguars’ few “stinks” from last year. When asked what specifically the team is working on to improve in that area, Coen focused on double-team blocks. “Yeah, just being thicker on combinations a little bit. Sometimes, based on the scheme, the O-Line will think they have to maybe get on an angle because of where the ball’s going. Say it’s outside zone, they feel like they just have to run because it’s outside. Well, no, let’s take care of the down [block] first, and be a little bit thicker through combinations so that we’re moving the line of scrimmage.”
- Another way that Coen is looking to improve is by experimenting with plays from other teams. “When we watch all of our wide zones, we watch, let’s call it 100 of them. Directly underneath are the top, let’s call it, three to five teams around the league that we felt ran wide zone the best … you get to see you, and you get to see the best that are doing that exact concept. So, whether it’s scheme, truly the concept, or a fundamental of how they’re doing it, ‘Well, hey, does that fit us?’ And we’re trying some of those things now, yeah.”
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