JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- A breakdown of the 2016 Jacksonville Jaguars draft class and its progress after two weeks of training camp.
Jalen Ramsey, CB, first round: The Jaguars only wanted him to work on the outside, but changed that plan pretty quickly when they saw how well Ramsey picked up the defense. He has been working with the first team as an outside corner and as a nickelback. He’s had some pretty good battles with WR Allen Robinson in camp. With Aaron Colvin, the team’s best nickelback, suspended for the first four weeks of the season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, Ramsey will take his spot as the nickel and could very well start on the outside, too.
Myles Jack, LB, second round: He was behind at the beginning of training camp after missing organized team activities (OTAs) because of the NFL’s graduation rule but said recently he feels like he’s gaining back some of that ground. He’s working as the second-team middle linebacker behind Paul Posluszny and got first-team reps when Posluszny had a recent day off. He hasn’t really flashed in terms of making plays, but his speed and athleticism are impressive. Right now it looks like his greatest contributions will come on third down.
Yannick Ngakoue, DE, third round: He was impressive in the early part of camp because of his speed and quickness off the edge, but he disappeared during the Jaguars’ annual night scrimmage. That’s not necessarily concerning because sometimes rookies can get overwhelmed by their first game-like atmosphere. The plan right now is for him to back up Dante Fowler Jr. and be on the field with Fowler on third downs in the team’s rush package.
Sheldon Day, DT, fourth round: Day was very impressive early in camp. He was consistently in the backfield, and although it came against mainly third-teamers Day did get reps with the first-team defense and looked solid. He’s a bit undersized (285 pounds) but he’s been better against the run than the Jaguars anticipated. He has been limited by a sore back the past week but he will be a significant part of the defensive tackle rotation when healthy.
Tyrone Holmes, LB, sixth round: It’s hard for Holmes to get a lot of reps because of Fowler, Ngakoue and veteran Chris Smith. Still, he has flashed here and there and is certainly ahead of former Indianapolis first-round pick Bjoern Werner. It appears Holmes is headed for the practice squad.
Brandon Allen, QB, sixth round: The Jaguars like Allen so much that they’re going to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster rather than take a chance that someone would snatch him up before he could be placed on the practice squad. He doesn’t have the strongest arm and he’s not very big either (6-foot-1), but he picked up the offense pretty well and the Jaguars view him as the eventual replacement for backup Chad Henne.
Jonathan Woodard, DE, seventh round: He suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during offseason training camp and will miss the 2016 season.
