JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A day after lighting it up during team drills, Trevor Lawrence went 6-15 during red zone team drills Thursday.
An ugly day on offense? Or a great performance by the defense?
Wide receiver, Zay Jones, gave props to the defense.
"To be honest, I think the defense won, I hate saying it," Jones said. "They did a good job, it's like bittersweet because they're still on our team so yea we want them to do good but at the same day we're competing, and I think we got after them the first couple days, and they came out ready."
"We'll bounce back, we got to bounce back, I hate saying that though I can't stand the defense," he added.
The Jaguars ran team drills in the red zone for the first time during training camp.
Jaguars cornerbacks, specifically Tre Herndon, who had a couple pass breakups, locked down the Jaguars wide receivers.
Linebackers were also positioned well, including Shaq Quarterman who deflected a pass that lead to a Shaq Griffin interception.
Zay Jones had a frustrating day as he was unable to connect with Lawrence on two pass attempts.
A connection with his quarterback and fellow wideouts he'll continue to work on.
"It's been developing, we're all kind of in this melting pot of coming together and we all have different backgrounds, previous teams, different levels of experience. Naturally, as we play together longer and start talking the same language we'll develop more chemistry on the field," Jones said.
Kirk Playing "Free" For the First Time
Four years, $72 million.
It's the 10th richest contract for a wide receiver in the NFL and comes with a significant amount of pressure to step in as the team's No. 1 receiver.
Kirk set a career high in yards (982) and receptions (77) last season with the Cardinals.
He's ready to prove the best is yet to come and the Jaguars are excited to see him do just that. The organization's belief in the talented wideout is exactly why Kirk is playing as free as he ever has.
"Doug and Press and the whole offensive staff and obviously Mr. Baalke and Mr. Khan bringing me here and the belief in me and what I can do and my potential to be the player that I know I can be," Kirk said. "
There's no words, all you have to do is go out there and play football and I know when I'm at my best I can be one of the best and so that's just all I'm focused on and it's a great feeling," he added.
Let the Kids Play
There's an excellent chance three rookies start Week 1.
Luke Fortner (center), Chad Muma (linebacker), and Travon Walker (outside linebacker) have all taken first-team reps during training camp.
That doesn't include Devin Lloyd (linebacker) who was slated to take first-team reps alongside Foye Oluokun before tweaking his hamstring.
It's a position most teams that frequently pick in the Top 10 find themselves in. It should come as no surprise that Doug Pederson is letting the kids play, because in a way, he has to.
"You draft these guys for a reason and the reason is they need to play and we need the depth we need the talent and we need to possibly fill a hole. There's no better time than right now to let them go through a practice and make mistakes have successes and be able to coach all that right now than say Week 1 or 2 of the regular season when it's their first time," Pederson said.
Trevor Tracker Day 4:
Day 4 News and Notes
Bad Day for the Kickers:
Particularly for rookie Andrew Mevis who missed a few kicks badly during the beginning of practice.
Taylor Out, Little In
Jawaan Taylor sat out practice Thursday and was riding a stationary bike off to the side. Walker Little took first team reps at right tackle and held his own in the run and pass game during team drills.
Tight Ends Struggle
Dan Arnold and Evan Engram each struggled in the red zone during team drills. The two struggled to hang on to balls in tight red zone situations and with route timing as well. Arnold dropped a few passes during position drills as well.