Jacksonville Jaguars Training Camp 2021: 3 position battles to watch
The Jacksonville Jaguars have nowhere to go but up, at least they hope so. After having a disappointing 1-15 record in 2020, the Jaguars now have a new head coach and a new philosophy of what they hope will be winning ways in the future.
The Jaguars have quite a mix of rookie and veteran players that will make for interesting training camp battles of players who want to keep their position and others that want it.
3 position battles to watch at Jacksonville Jaguars training camp
#1 - Running Back
Running back James Robinson was an undrafted free agent who was signed by the Jags out of Illinois State last year. Robinson had a productive rookie season with over 1,070 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns on 240 rushing attempts. Robinson also had 344 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns on 49 receptions.
Even with his standout performance, the Jaguars still went out and drafted Clemson running back Travis Etienne in the first-round after drafting Trevor Lawrence.
It immediately seemed there was going to be a battle since the Jaguars used their first-round selection on a running back when they had a standout running back already on the roster. Robinson is going to need to fight for his starting job and hope that the Jaguars decide to use Etienne in another role.
#2 - Tight End
When the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Tim Tebow as a tight end so that he could revitalize his NFL career, it was definitely a head scratcher. Consider that Tebow hasn't played football since 2012, nor has he ever played the position before throughout his entire football career.
The Jaguars have other, experienced tight ends in James O'Shaughnessy, who has been with the team since 2017. The Jags also signed Chris Manhertz, who previously played with the Carolina Panthers. Both could easily beat out Tebow for the tight end position on the roster.
#3 - Kicker
Aldrick Rosas was once an NFL Pro Bowl kicker as a member of the New York Giants. After being released by the Giants in 2019, Rosas was signed by the Jaguars in 2020.
He spent time going back and forth between the active roster and practice squad in 2020 mostly due to Josh Lambo being injured. So now there will be a battle between the Jaguars starting kicker from 2017 and Rosas, who filled in when he couldn't.
Lambo could win his job back, considering at his best he can hit 90% of field goals. Rosas, on the other hand, can be inconsistent at times.