Coble: Five Questions for Jacksonville Jaguars Ahead of Training Camp
JACKSONVILLE – Answers to so many offseason questions will start becoming clearer when training camp opens on Wednesday at the Jaguars Training Center at the Miller Electric Center.
The 90-player preseason roster will be on the field at 8:30 a.m. as Jacksonville looks to back up its 13-5 2025-26 record that included a 27-24 loss to Buffalo in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
"Establishing is definitely a little easier [than Year 1] because they (players) are very ready to hear something different,” head coach Liam Coen said. “When you have lost or are coming off a tough year, they're eager, their eyes are bright, they want to hear what you've got to say because like, 'Hey, man. This is what we got. This is where we have to go.'
“This team understands there was meat left on the bone.”
The Jaguars must either cut players, designate them as physically unable to perform, non-football injury or illness to get to the 53-player limit by 6 p.m. on Aug. 30.
Here are the five pressing questions for Jacksonville as it prepares for the 2026-27 season:
Travis Hunter
One of the leading piece of the puzzle is the plan for Travis Hunter. After suffering a season-ending knee injury after the seventh game a year ago, will the team’s top cornerback still be used on offense?
Head coach Liam Coen said Hunter will concentrate on defense, but the Jaguars have insisted he will get plenty of offensive snaps at wide receiver.
Tight ends
Part of Coen’s Year 2 plan on offense is to feature more two tight end sets. After drafting tight ends Nate Boerkircher out of Texas A&M in the second round and Tanner Koziol out of Houston in the fifth round, the Jaguars will have plenty of choices to match starter Brenton Strange, who signed a three-year, $48 million, extension and third-year Jags backup Quinton Morris.
Interior defense
Can Jacksonville solidify its porous interior defense? While DeVon Hamilton is one of the best nose tackles, the team desperately needs to find ways to put more pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Jaguars racked up 32 sacks in 17 regular and one postseason games, but more importantly, they failed to put consistent pressure on the quarterback. That led to them allowing 4.026 passing yards – eighth worst in the NFL.
Jacksonville drafted defensive tackle Albert Regis from Texas A&M with the second round and defensive ends Wesley Williams from Duke in Round 4 and Zach Durfee from Washington in the seventh, with hopes of freeing up veteran ends Trevon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen.
Running back
Now that Travis Etienne has moved onto New Orleans, the Jaguars don’t have anyone on the roster who’s been a regular starter. Bhayshul Tuten will be the likely starter, while former Washington Commanders’ Chris Rodriguez Jr., who signed last March, and LeQuint Allen Jr. should be the key backups.
Look for Jacksonville to platoon the position with Tuten running in early-down situations and Rodriguez appearing for short-yardage and goal line plays.
Prove it again
Can the Jaguars prove last year’s 13-4 regular season record and AFC South championship wasn’t a fluke? The Vegas oddsmakers are betting against them, setting their odds for total wins at 8.5.
One of the keys to last year’s success was third-best 32 takeaways (Houston led with 34, while Chicago had 33, but both played one more game than Jacksonville).
That will be difficult to duplicate, especially since the Jaguars let linebacker Devon Lloyd depart to Carolina in free agency after he finished with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Also, can quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Parker Washington continue their growth?
Lawrence threw for 4,007 yards with 29 passing touchdowns and nine more on the ground, with only 12 interceptions by completing 60.9% of his passes. Washington led the team with 58 catches and five TDs.
