Josh Cameron was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and has quickly become one of the NFL's biggest surprise stories. But while his physical abilities were always evident, offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has been praising Cameron for his growth as a wide receiver as well.
In a recent interview, Udinski said Cameron is impressive for his size, strength, and smarts.
"The size, the speed, and the rare combination of having a player with that type of strength with that type of speed."
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 16, 2026
Coach Udinski on the growth of Josh Cameron through his rookie season. pic.twitter.com/9v9BkYUzPI
"I think the physical traits speak for themselves," Udinski said. "It was the size, the speed, and the rare combination of
having a player with that type of strength, with that type of speed."
But Udinski said Cameron's ability to understand the details of Jacksonville's offense so quickly has separated him from many young players. That is especially notable considering one of the questions surrounding Cameron entering the 2026 NFL Draft.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein praised Cameron's strength, body control, and ball skills coming out of Baylor, but identified his route development as an area that needed work. His scouting report specifically noted that proving he could handle more than the relatively simple responsibilities he had in college would be critical to becoming more than a backup.
And five games into his rookie season, he has already passed that test with flying colors. So far, he has caught eight of 12 targets for 117 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 14.6 yards per reception. He has also contributed extensively on special teams, another avenue for a late-round rookie to earn playing time.
"What stood out to me is probably his ability to understand the nuances of things we're trying to do on a game plan or week-to-week basis," Udinski continued. "There are a lot of rookies who are highly intelligent, who can learn the system and learn what to do on paper. When a route says I run to five yards and then I turn left, or I break in or I break out, guys can get that down. There's a smaller handful of guys that can understand that at multiple positions, which he's done learning one receiver position, whether it's on the outside, left, right, inside. He's learned all the receiver positions, which opens up the opportunity to play them in different spots and do more things. But there are even a smaller handful of guys amongst that select group, rare group, that can learn those positions and then learn the nuances to, when I get this coverage or when I get this look from the defense, I run this route from this position like this. And the quarterback and I need to be on the same page, seeing the coverage play that way or seeing the front play a certain way in a run scheme. So that way, the running back or the quarterback and I are on the same page, and his ability to pick that up and to go out there and execute it with very, very limited reps is wildly impressive, to say the least."
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: How Jaguars' rookie is earning more reps and catching attention of coaches
