Undrafted wide receiver Eli Pancol seems to have the attention of Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Liam Coen in the early going of training camp practices.
“Eli’s worked his tail off,” Coen said after Friday’s practice. “He’s strong. He’s physical. He’s got to continue to work on flexibility and just being able to be loose as an athlete playing the receiver position. He’s worked his tail off on special teams as well. He wants to do right. He looks you in the eye when you’re coaching him. He’s a good kid.”
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Pancol went undrafted this past April out of Duke, where he spent six seasons. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Pancol had 71 total targets, but unfortunately missed all of 2023 with a lower body injury.
Once back on the field in 2024, Pancol was a huge part of the Duke offense, catching 67% of his 89 targets for 800 yards with nine scores.
According to PFF’s tracking data, the bulk of Pancol’s targets came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, where he was very good at picking up yards after the catch.
Also of note and importance in Coen’s offense, with a 6-3, 205-pound frame, Pancol graded out well as a run blocker by PFF’s metrics.
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At the receiver position for the Jaguars, we know that at the top of the wideout depth chart are Brian Thomas Jr., Dyami Brown, Travis Hunter, and Parker Washington. But depending on how many receivers the Jaguars roster, whether it be five or six, one to two spots will be up for grabs this summer.
For whoever ends up on the back end of this Jaguars’ depth chart at receiver, with likely not many opportunities coming on offense, the ability to help on special teams, which from the sounds of it, Pancol is doing, will be important.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars training camp: UDFA WR Eli Pancol as attention of Liam Coen