How many spots on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 53-man roster are truly up for grabs in training camp?
Training camp is the time of the year when positional battles take center stage and 53-man roster predictions are everywhere. But truthfully, most roster spots are already accounted for before camp even begins.
So, how many spots on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 53-man roster are actually up for grabs this summer?
In a matter of months, GM James Gladstone has overhauled this roster, and with that, there are two ways to look at this exercise: on one hand, the immense amount of change creates unknowns when it comes to roster building. Or on the flip side, it becomes easier because we know who Gladstone and Liam Coen’s guys are.
Let’s go position by position through the roster, examining who is a lock and who is fighting for a roster spot.
Quarterbacks: 0-1 roster spots available
The question here is whether Liam Coen wants two or three quarterbacks on his 53-man roster. If he goes with two, then no spots are available. If he wants a third, then John Wolford and Seth Henigan will battle it out for that QB3 role.
Running backs: 0-1 roster spot available
Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, and Bhayshul Tuten make up the top three spots on the running back depth chart as of now. So the question at hand here is, will Coen roster four backs to keep LeQuint Allen on the 53-man?
Tight end: 1 roster spot available
If we operate under the assumption that the Jaguars will keep four tight ends, that presumably leaves just one spot available with Brenton Strange, Johnny Mundt, and Hunter Long my roster locks at this position.
Wide receiver: 1-2 roster spots available
Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, Dyami Brown, and Parker Washington make up the first four spots on the depth chart, which leaves one to two spots up for grabs, depending on whether Coen rosters five or six wideouts.
Offensive line: 1 roster spot available
A lot of changes up front, which can make it difficult to decipher where things stand. But for this exercise, the Jaguars’ six offseason additions between free agency and the NFL draft–Robert Hainsey, Patrick Mekari, Chuma Edoga, Fred Johnson, Wyatt Milum, and Jonah Monheim–are considered locks, as are Walker Little, Ezra Cleveland, and Anton Harrison. If Jacksonville goes a bit heavy here and rosters 10, that leaves one spot available.
Defensive line: 1-2 roster spots available
We seem to have a good idea of what the rotations at defensive end and defensive tackle will look like, with Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, and Maason Smith leading the way. The Jaguars also bolster the defensive end depth with three veteran additions, who I would guess make the team, but we will leave some wiggle room and predict that 1-2 spots are up for grabs, depending on if any younger players emerge or if the Jaguars go lighter at one of these positions.
Linebacker: 1 roster spot available
Devin Lloyd and Foye Oluokun will see the bulk of the playing time here, while the Jaguars just drafted Jack Kiser and Jalen McLeod. So if the Jaguars keep the standard five linebackers on the roster, that leaves one spot open.
Cornerback: 1 roster spot available
Again, assuming the Jaguars have six at this position, there is one spot available with Hunter, Tyson Campbell, Jourdan Lewis, Jarrian Jones, and Montaric Brown accounting for five of those roster spots.
Safety: 0-1 roster spots available
Is keeping six safeties likely? I would guess not, but I made it work on my recent roster prediction, in which case, we probably know who those spots belong to. But if the Jaguars go with five, then someone is going to be the odd man out.
Special teams: 0 roster spots available
There is no mystery here. Logan Cooke, Ross Matiscik, and Cam Little make up this unit.