On Jan. 21, the Jacksonville Jaguars walked off the field at Arrowhead Stadium and into the offseason after getting handed a 27-20 loss via the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nearly seven months later, the Jaguars will finally be suited up again and back under the lights for their first preseason game of 2023.
The defending AFC South champions will travel to face the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night and the stakes are pretty low for both teams. Jacksonville doesn’t have many position battles to sort out this August, and the Cowboys had a similarly quiet offseason.
Still, the Jaguars have several new rookies and a few young players trying to work their way into the mix. Here are five players to keep a close eye on Saturday against the Cowboys:
OT Anton Harrison
First-round pick and starting right tackle Anton Harrison has missed bits of training camp while working through a minor shoulder injury, but he’s expected to be good to go for the Jaguars’ preseason opener. In fact, coach Doug Pederson told reporters that Harrison will likely play a little longer than the rest of the team’s starters.
Is Harrison up to the task of keeping Trevor Lawrence protected through the regular season? Time will tell, but Jaguars fans will come away feeling hopeful or anxious about it depending on Harrison’s performance Saturday.
OLB K'Lavon Chaisson
Coaches have a lot of positive things to say about Chaisson and his chances of producing in 2023, but that’s nothing Jaguars fans haven’t heard before. Three seasons into his NFL career, Chaisson has just three sacks.
Is he really ready to turn the corner, or should the Jaguars be concerned about Chaisson sitting No. 3 on the pass rushing depth chart behind Josh Allen and Travon Walker? A couple disruptions in the Cowboys backfield from Chaisson would ease a lot of minds.
RB Tank Bigsby
The Jaguars’ third-round rookie has been generating buzz every time he touches the ball in camp. His early impact has been enough to launch him to No. 2 on the running back depth chart behind only Travis Etienne Jr. and ahead of veterans JaMycal Hasty, D’Ernest Johnson, and Snoop Conner.
There’s not much reason to stress about Bigsby’s performance. He’s a lock to make the 53-man roster and the Jaguars have plenty of other capable backs if he gets off to a slow start to his career. But it sure seems like he’s primed to make big plays and he’ll have his first chance to do in live action against Dallas.
CB Gregory Junior
Jaguars coaches are pleased with the sharp improvement of Junior in his second training camp and say he’s “stepped up” as of late. The team wasn’t quite ready to push Junior up to the starting slot cornerback role, though.
For now, that job still belongs to Tre Herndon III, a veteran entering his sixth season with Jacksonville.
Herndon’s leg up in the competition is his knowledge and understanding, as coaches have called him a reliable player who can be trusted to be in the right place at the right time. If Junior can show he’s similarly trustworthy, the slot job may not be Herndon’s for long.
OT Walker Little
The left tackle spot is a delicate situation for the Jaguars to navigate with Cam Robinson ready to serve a four-game suspension and Little set to start in his place. It’s likely that Little will cede the role back to Robinson in October, but it’s no guarantee.
Plenty eyes will be on the left tackle spot Saturday night, especially with the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons likely to make life miserable for whoever is across from him (assuming Parsons plays). If Little holds his own, it’ll make things even more interesting moving forward.
