JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars open the 2021 NFL regular season at the Houston Texans on Sept. 12 at NRG Stadium. The Jaguars finished 2020 with a 1-15 record, the worst record in the NFL, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
With No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars finally believe they have the franchise quarterback who has eluded the team for so long. Now the priority is building around the former Clemson standout, and the Jaguars have gotten off to a good start at receiver, but there's a lot of work to be done on the offensive line.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (2): Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Beathard
Although Lawrence and Gardner Minshew II rotated days with the first-team offense throughout much of camp, Lawrence was named the opening-day starter and Misnhew was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. While Minshew out-performed Beathard in camp, Beathard, who is guaranteed $2.75 million, looked much better in preseason games, so the trade wasn't a surprise.
RUNNING BACK (4): James Robinson, Carlos Hyde, Dare Ogunbowale, Devine Ozigbo
Travis Etienne Jr., the 25th overall pick, was going to play a major role in the offense until a Lisfranc injury in his left foot put him out for the season. Ogunbowale led all backs in touches (17) through the first two preseason games. Ozigbo and Nathan Cottrell will fight for the fourth spot.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Marvin Jones Jr., DJ Chark Jr., Laviska Shenault Jr., Jamal Agnew, Laquon Treadwell, Phillip Dorsett II
This may be the team's best position group. Treadwell, a former first-round pick, joined the team in June and was one of the biggest surprises of camp. He's tailed off lately, though, while Collin Johnson has made a late push. Coach Urban Meyer loves Dorsett's speed, and with Etienne gone, that makes Dorsett more valuable. Agnew was signed to be the Jaguars' kick returner and may not do much on offense.
TIGHT END (4): Chris Manhertz, James O'Shaughnessy, Luke Farrell, Ben Ellefson
Manhertz and Farrell will mainly be blockers, but Manhertz has been better than expected as a pass-catcher. O'Shaughnessy should lead the group in catches, but this is a position that likely won't contribute a lot in the pass game. Expect the team to mine waiver cuts here and make this position a priority next year.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Cam Robinson, Andrew Norwell, Brandon Linder, A.J. Cann, Jawaan Taylor, Tyler Shatley, Walker Little, Ben Bartch, Will Richardson Jr.
There was no more disappointing position group during the first two preseason games than the offensive line. Robinson and Taylor didn't look any better than last season when they combined to allow 27 sacks. Bartch struggled in pass protection, too, and Little didn't look as good in the games as he did in practice. Linder (patella tendinitis) is already banged up, and Norwell is dealing with an elbow injury. Not doing more at this position other than drafting Little, who hasn't played in two years, in the second round will go down as the front office's biggest mistake in 2021.
DEFENSIVE LINE (7): Roy Robertson-Harris, Malcom Brown, Dawuane Smoot, DaVon Hamilton, Jay Tufele, Adam Gotsis, Doug Costin
Robertson-Harris has the flexibility to play at multiple spots. Hamilton is a budding star at nose tackle, and Brown (acquired via trade) is a big run-stuffing defensive tackle. Smoot also can play outside linebacker in addition to end. Taven Bryan, the team's 2018 first-round pick, doesn't make the roster.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER/EDGE (4): Josh Allen, K'Lavon Chaisson, Jihad Ward, Jordan Smith
Both Allen and Chaisson played outside linebacker in college and thrived, so the move back to that spot should energize both. Allen needs to rebound from a disappointing 2020 (2.5 sacks, a knee injury that limited him to eight games).
INSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Myles Jack, Shaquille Quarterman, Damien Wilson, Dakota Allen
Jack is coming off the best season of his career after moving to weakside linebacker from 4-3 middle linebacker, and he'll be used in much the same way as one of the inside linebackers in a 3-4. The team liked what they saw from Quarterman and Wilson so much that they traded Joe Schobert.
CORNERBACK (5): CJ Henderson, Shaquill Griffin, Tyson Campbell, Sidney Jones IV, Chris Claybrooks
Griffin was the team's marquee free-agent signee (three years, $40 million, $29 million guaranteed) and is a former Pro Bowler. Henderson started camp on the reserve-COVID list but has bounced back nicely and played well in the preseason. Campbell is working inside. Claybrooks has special teams value.
SAFETY (5): Rayshawn Jenkins, Andre Cisco, Jarrod Wilson, Rudy Ford, Josh Jones
The Jaguars have played three safeties at times in a dime look. Cisco was a ball hawk at Syracuse (13 interceptions in 24 games) and shows no sign of the torn ACL he suffered last September. Ford was signed to improve special teams. If the Jaguars keep six safeties Andrew Wingard makes it.
SPECIALIST (3): K Josh Lambo, P Logan Cooke, LS Ross Matiscik
Lambo has been surprisingly inconsistent in camp. Cooke is one of the league's better punters.