The Jacksonville Jaguars’ second week of preseason work delivered unexpected swings of highs and lows for Jaguars fans. After Wednesday’s joint early practice domination of the Carolina Panthers and losing steam after the midpoint, Jacksonville failed to recreate their week one comeback magic on Friday, falling to the Carolina Panthers 34-17.
From players who strengthened their case in ongoing roster battles to those who left the joint practice and game week with more questions than answers, here
are our stock-up and stock-down players following week two of preseason action at home.
Stock Up (6)
QB Nick Mullens
Mullens was arguably the most encouraging story of the preseason game, at least through the first half. He opened the night completing six of his first seven attempts for 65 yards, a 9.3 yards-per-reception average that reflected a cleaner, more decisive version of the quarterback who struggled for stretches against the Saints in Week 1. His lone early incompletion was an Ameer Abdullah drop on second down that would have been a touchdown, and he rushed for a first down on the scoring drive.
Mullens found a real working partnership with rookies Josh Cameron and CJ Williams throughout the first half, distributing the ball efficiently and giving both rookies meaningful opportunities. Nick’s improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 in early-drive efficiency was notable: zero turnovers, red-zone efficiency, and, most importantly, leading the offense against much of the Panthers’ starting defense resulted in a quality bounce-back outcome.
Ameer Abdullah
Abdullah had a strong Friday performance after not dressing with the starters in Week 1. Ameer was easily Jacksonville’s biggest performer against the Panthers, rushing for 45 yards on 6 carries, with a 12-yard carry also called back due to a penalty.
Abdullah clearly showed enough in his touches to justify his spot on the roster, demonstrating the veteran reliability and route-running ability that made him a camp addition worth monitoring. In addition to leading the team in rushing, he was second in receiving with 37 yards Friday night.
The drop on a potential second-down touchdown reception was an unwelcome blemish, and one the veteran will want back. But taken across the broader context of the Panthers’ week, Abdullah put up a dominant overall performance.
WR Josh Cameron
Cameron is making his case increasingly difficult to ignore, a great problem for a stacked Jacksonville receiving room. In joint practice on Wednesday, with Parker Washington nursing an injury, Cameron caught a deep-ball touchdown from Trevor Lawrence in one-on-one coverage and also sprung J’Mari Taylor for a rushing score with a key downfield block, two very different contributions that speak to his value beyond pure receiving.
In the game itself, he finished with two catches for 41 yards, with a 22-yard grab against veteran Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson standing as one of the most explosive passing plays of the night for Jacksonville. His 19-yard catch on the following drive helped set up a Cam Little field goal, with both receptions showing off his strong hands at the catch point. Liam Coen addressed Cameron directly in his post-game comments, telling reporters it was good to see the rookie convert a one-on-one opportunity that had been appearing regularly in practice. After just one catch for 17 yards in the Saints game, the steps forward in practice and game production proved to be real.
CJ Williams
Williams may have had the less statistically flashy night of the two rookie receivers, four catches for 22 yards, but his film from the week tells a fuller story. In Wednesday’s joint practice, he made one of the catches of the day on a Mullens throw into an impossibly tight window.
In the game, he and Cameron operated as the clear first options for both Mullens and Carter Bradley throughout the first half, with the first two Jaguars scoring drives being, effectively, the CJ Williams and Josh Cameron show. His efficiency in that volume of early work, four targets and four catches, reflected a growing level of trust from the backup quarterback room that he had not yet fully established early on. It’s there now.
QB Joey Aguilar
Aguilar played the entire second half Friday and delivered the kind of performance that made most believe his hold on the third, emergency quarterback role could be legitimate. Completing 9 of 10 pass attempts for 130 yards, a touchdown, and a 152.1 passer rating will always gain a backup quarterback new fans. His composure and decision-making under pressure in a game that had clearly gotten away from Jacksonville showed a level of poise that could not have been assumed from his lone Week 1 completion, the 43-yard strike that was his only preseason pass against the Saints. He seems to be building on his case. He’s developing.
DE Bryan Thomas Jr.
Thomas had a productive Panthers week on the edge, making enough plays during both joint practice sessions to build on the momentum he had established during the Saints week. His pass rush ability continues to be the calling card to making this roster. Thomas collecting three solo tackles and two quarterback pressures against the Carolina offensive line gives his week one performance more context and support for the Jaguars finding a way to keep him on the roster or practice squad.
Stock Down (5)
QB Carter Bradley
The second half of Friday’s game belonged primarily to the aforementioned Aguilar, and the separation between the two quarterbacks, in terms of poise and efficiency, became more visible as the game progressed. Though, admittedly, there is something to be said for the level of competition impacting a player’s performance, that didn’t seem to be the driving force on Friday.
The biggest play in Jacksonville’s 17-point loss was arguably Carter’s second-quarter interception, on his third pass of the game, with the team down by seven. The interception seemed to be the moment the dam broke for Jacksonville on Friday. Down 10-3, the turnover gave Carolina the ball back at the Jacksonville 29-yard line, with the Panthers extending the lead to 14 just three plays later.
Bradley’s 6-of-13 preseason week two showing for 51 yards (24.8 passer rating) did little to strengthen his case for the third quarterback spot over Aguilar heading into the final preseason week.
CB Christian Braswell
After generating some encouraging moments in earlier camp practices, Braswell had a more difficult Panthers week. The joint practice environment against a Panthers offense with legitimate weapons returned minimal big plays for the veteran corner. While a rough Friday performance placed his competition with Jabbar Muhammad in a questionable spot. Braswell surrendered a 17-yard Tet McMillan catch, followed that up with a missed tackle on a late first quarter sideline rush which allowed for an additional 5 yards after contact, then he was flagged for defensive holding on third down, a penalty that was declined. He still remains in the conversation for a depth cornerback spot, but his stock slipped relative to where it sat at the end of the Saints week, following Muhammad’s struggles that week.
CB Corey Ballentine
The veteran Ballentine had an up-and-down week in coverage during the joint sessions, with the Panthers’ receivers winning enough of their individual matchups to raise legitimate questions about his ability to hold up as a depth option. Following a tough in-game performance against the Saints in week one, questions already existed regarding the strength of Ballentine’s camp roster spot.
In a cornerback room with meaningful decisions looming between Jabbar Muhammad, Christian Braswell, and others competing for depth spots, Ballentine’s Panthers week failed to move him in the right direction. To be clear, it wasn’t a bad gameday for Corey. It just wasn’t the consistent performance needed to move the needle, combined with an inconsistent joint practice performance.
S Cameron Silmon-Craig
Silmon-Craig did not do enough across the Panthers week to hold off the stacked competition developing around him in the safety room. With the drafted Caleb Ransaw, Ray Lane, and Jalen Huskey trio all continuing to push for meaningful roles, the evaluation window for every safety on the back end of the roster is narrowing and we’re entering the offseason stage where every play matters. Cam’s two fourth quarter missed tackles this week did not give the staff a reason to prioritize his inclusion on the final roster. What should have been a 4-5 yard, highlight tackle-for-loss turned into a one-yard loss due to a first down run blitz missed tackle by Cameron. On the following play, he surrendered a 15 yard touchdown after taking a stiff arm in the chest at the 12 yard line.
RB DeeJay Dallas
Dallas had a week that did little to separate him in the backfield depth conversation. Following J’Mari Taylor’s explosive week against the Saints and Abdullah’s dominant Week 2, DeeJay failed to provide the moments that would make his inclusion on the final 53-man roster or the practice squad feel secure. Dallas wrapped up Friday’s match at 3.4 yards per carry on rushes, but most notably, a third-quarter lost fumble.
The competition behind Tuten and Rodriguez is genuinely open, and Dallas clearly fell behind in Panthers week.
Status Unchanged (4)
LB Branson Combs / Ventrell Miller
Both linebackers dressed for the second consecutive preseason game, and both continued to be competitive without separating themselves significantly from one another. Combs performed well rushing the passer, while somewhat struggling to shed blocks in the run game. Meanwhile, Miller flourished in the run game, with limited snaps in coverage. The competition between them for the primary linebacker role next to Foye Oluokun remains genuinely unsettled, as neither Combs nor Miller did enough to definitively close the gap.
S Ray Lane
Lane remains one of the more interesting players in the safety competition, and his work across the Panthers’ week was consistent with what he has shown since early in camp. The special teams ace didn’t have the kind of defensive splash-play moment that would force the staff’s hand, but he also didn’t give them a reason to look elsewhere.
His hustle and shoestring tackle on the Jimmy Horn reverse highlighted his range, while his inability to shed the block on the Panthers’ one-yard touchdown rush was his primary negative play. Small margins exist in this stacked safety room depth competition, and it often comes down to one or two plays.
CB Jabbar Muhammad
Muhammad’s Panthers week was characteristic of his entire training camp: enough plays to stay relevant, not quite enough to take over the conversation. He added a pass breakup during the joint sessions and remains in the depth cornerback discussion. However, the needle did not move materially in either direction, despite a rough day by Christian Braswell. The 53-man roster calculus at his position remains competitive, and Muhammad will need the preseason joint practices and finale against Tampa Bay to sharpen his case.
Which player(s) are you high on following Saturday’s game, Jaguars fans? Who are you looking for more from this week? Let us know in the comments!
