The Jacksonville Jaguars ended the summer in a big way, with a 19-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the final game of the preseason. Sunday is cutdown day, in which the Jaguars will have to choose their final 53-man roster, and they will have months of practice and performance to consider from training camp, the preseason, and offseason programs as they weigh their decision.
As the Jaguars staff considers everything from the past several months, there are several things we have learned.
The Jaguars have a lot of depth at pass rusher.
Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker will be the dominant pass-rushing duo, and going into the preseason, there were concerns about the depth behind them. After training camp and the preseason, it's safe to say that concern is now nonexistent. The Jaguars
not only have plenty of depth, but many of the defensive ends battling for roster spots have also turned in impressive performances this summer.
While this is a good problem to have, it also will make it extremely difficult to choose who will make the handful of spots available. Even the reserve DEs racked up 5.5 sacks against Tampa Bay. Whatever choice is made, it seems clear that some very good football players are about to get cut.
The defense seems poised to take another step under Anthony Campanile
Last season, Jacksonville had the best run defense in the league, but the pass rush was considered a major weak spot for the defense. Through training camp and the preseason, however, the defense has been dominant, steadily improving as training camp went on. This includes the pass rush, signaling that the Jaguars defense will have an elite, well-rounded defense in 2026.
Consider the last joint practices with Tampa Bay this week: Hines-Allen had multiple would-be sacks and a strip sack, Antonio Johnson and Montaric Brown had interceptions, and the defense was so dominant, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield actually said afterward that if it had been a real game, they would have lost because the Jaguars out-physicaled them.
The wide receiver room is going to have some tough cuts
It's already well known that the Jaguars have one of the best wide receiver rooms in the NFL, with Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr, Jakobi Meyers, and Travis Hunter making up the four primary starters. Rookies CJ Williams and Josh Cameron have also turned in strong performances across training camp and the preseason, and presumably, those performances were strong enough that Jacksonville coaches didn't feel it was necessary to see them play again against Tampa Bay. While this isn't a guarantee that they will both make the active roster, it seems likely.
However, there have also been some other players that have played well, with Michael Wortham in particular giving a spectacular performance on special teams in the Jaguars' shutout of the Buccaneers. Trebor Pena has also been consistently good, and Austin Trammell has given some standout performances as well. Still other players, like Brady Boyd, have shown flashes of potential. Like the defense, there is no denying that some good players are going to inevitably get cut.
The offensive line remains a work in progress
Injuries have consistently plagued Jacksonville's offensive line, which has caused some problems throughout training camp and the preseason for the offense. After cycling through various options, it seems the Jaguars have settled on an Anton Harrison–Emmanuel Pregnon–Robert Hainsey–Ezra Cleveland–Walker Little combination until Cole Van Lanen returns, but there are still plenty of questions that remain.
During joint practices with Tampa Bay, for example, the offensive line was still allowing pressure to get through, particularly on the right side. Jacksonville may have found their starting five, but there are still a lot of unknowns about this unit, which remains one of the biggest question marks on the offense.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 4 things learned from Jaguars 2026 training camp and preseason
