This series takes a look back at the rookies and the impact they did or didn’t have on the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2015 season.
Undrafted rookies
LB Thurston Armbrister: He played in every game (three starts -- one at middle linebacker and two at Otto) and had 11 tackles and one pass breakup.
DT Richard Ash: He spent nearly the entire season on the practice squad but played in the season finale.
CB Nick Marshall: He played in 13 games (one start) and had six tackles and one pass breakup. He also averaged 6.0 yards on five punt returns and 26.6 yards on 13 kick returns. Marshall was the nickelback for the final month of the season after outperforming Dwayne Gratz and Demetrius McCray in practice.
LB Hayes Pullard: He played in eight games and started the final two at weakside linebacker in place of the injured Telvin Smith. Pullard made 13 tackles.
RB Corey Grant: He played in the first six games before a hip injury landed him on injured reserve. Grant rushed for 2 yards on six carries, caught two passes for 13 yards and averaged 27.5 yards on eight kick returns. He also had a crucial fumble late in the third quarter of the Tampa Bay game.
WR Rasheed Bailey: The Jaguars signed him to the practice squad in mid-October.
OL Chris Reed: He spent the entire season on the practice squad.
Impact: As you can see, only Armbrister, Marshall, Pullard and Grant earned significant playing time. Nobody came close to making the same kind of impact that Allen Hurns did the season before. The Jaguars got pretty much what you’d expect out of a group of undrafted rookies: Some good plays here and there, but otherwise the group made a minimal positive impact. The Jaguars were so intrigued by Marshall and worried they would lose him that they kept him on the 53-man roster coming out of the preseason. He fits the Jaguars’ size preference in a cornerback (6-foot-1, 206 pounds) and coach Gus Bradley said during camp that Marshall may have the best ball skills of all the defensive backs on the team. Marshall had a rough go of it as a rookie, though. He muffed a punt that the New York Jets recovered and turned into a touchdown and also had trouble in coverage. He gave up several long completions, including a 71-yarder for a touchdown to New Orleans’ Brandin Cooks. Armbrister struggled, too. He started in place of middle linebacker Paul Posluszny against Tampa Bay and the Bucs ran for 183 yards. The Jaguars had been giving up 83 rushing yards per game before that. Armbrister had a little more success at outside linebacker. Pullard held his own for the most part as Smith’s replacement, but Houston was able to burn him in coverage and with misdirection plays several times in the season finale.
