Jaguar fans and media finally received an opportunity to see the new crop of Jacksonville rookies on Friday. This year’s draft class and 13 Undrafted Free Agents (UDFAs) officially reported for their first day of rookie mini-camp on Friday, May 10th. Participants ranged from the previously mentioned rookies to a few veterans, competing on a try-out basis (or those choosing to participate to get extra work in).

Coach Pederson provided a few injury updates and spoke about veteran WR Jarvis Landry, among other things before practice, which you can read about here . It was a rainy Friday morning for the team, so practices were held inside of the indoor Miller Electric Center facility.

Let’s get to today’s highlights.

Highlights

Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU

If you're looking for a highlight to walk away with from Friday's minicamp, it was undoubtedly this tweet from Jaguar Report’s John Shipley.

To match what we already knew about the rookie WR (his ability to take the top off a defense, great at contested catches, etc) BT is also explosive and does look to have the ability to run the entire route tree. If so, watch out AFC South.

Maason Smith, DT, LSU

Without pads, there isn't as much to gleen from the early days of the big guys at OTA and rookie minicamp. However, I leave you with this gem from Matt House via Shipley.

Jarrian Jones, CB, FSU

Jarrian Jones showed great athleticism today, high pointing multiple balls in drills and looking smooth in transition. I look forward to seeing his transition into the padded practices, as the local DB guy.

Javon Foster, OT, Missouri

The offensive linemen seemed to really be enjoying themselves today.

Deantre Prince, CB, Ole Miss

With the defensive backs on the other end of the field, video was sparce for much of the DB drills today. There was this nugget from the pre-practice media availability for Assistant GM Ethan Waugh, however.

Keilan Robinson, RB/KR, Texas

Cameron Little, K, Arkansas

Jarvis Landry, WR, Veteran FA try-out

It wasn't the strongest opening day for Landry, which was to be expected after spending the entire 2023 season healing his injuries. The veteran WR suffered multiple early drops during drills and also slipped during his route on two occasions, opting to re-run the drill. However Landry did finish strong with two deep over the shoulder catches, near the back of the end zone, getting both feet down with the toe tap. Looking forward to a bounce back day from Jarvis on Saturday.

Josh Cephus, WR, Texas San-Antonio

While, we were unable to catch any of his multiple solid catches on video, I would definitely agree with this take from Jaguar Report’s John Shipley.

Wayne Ruby, WR, Mount Union

Wayne Ruby, started off practice by catching his initial few balls. However, he followed that up with two uncharacteristic drops, then pulled up limping on a post route. We are awaiting more information from the team on any injury specifics, or if he simply temporarily tweaked something.

As a reminder, rookie minicamp is slightly different from June 10th's mandatory veteran training camp, as players are unable to participate in pads or run contact drills during rookie minicamp and OTAs (Organized Team Activities). The team, however is able to compete in one-on-one scenarios and mock team sessions, similar to flag football seven-on-seven games.

Rookie minicamp and OTAs allow the incoming rookies and veterans a structured process to be around their peers, get active, and begin the communication and cerebral parts of making a roster. For the rookies, it also gets them acclimated to working with the staff, learning the scheme terminology, diving into the playbook, and competing in the classroom before OTAs begin.

After Practice Interviews

The team returns to the practice field on Saturday (which is closed to the media). The team then has its first OTA scheduled for Monday, May 20th at 11 am. OTAs, which are essentially an extension of the rookie minicamp, will be the coaching staff’s first chance to coach up their full team of veterans and rookies together on football maneuvers, communication, and drills as a group.