Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie first-round wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. stood out while working out of the slot in Thursday's joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and continues to receive praise from the coaching staff. "He continues to grow, and just he and Trevor Lawrence keep talking and working. That's what's going to take, you're not going to be a finished product right away, but if he continues to improve and just learn with the offense, grow with the offense. But he's been doing a really good job," head coach Doug Pederson said. On his only catch in his NFL debut last weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs, the 21-year-old caught a 41-yard pass from C.J. Beathard. Although the Jaguars added Gabe Davis in the offseason, Thomas, the 23rd overall pick in the draft, has the chance to push for the WR2 role in Jacksonville and is worth a late-round flier as a WR4/flex heading into his first year in the NFL.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence will not play in Saturday's preseason game against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers at EverBank Stadium, head coach Doug Pederson said on Thursday at training camp. Mac Jones or C.J. Beathard will each play a half, but a starter has yet to be named. After looking sharp while completing three of his four passes for 42 yards and a touchdown in last week's preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Lawrence will get the night off on Saturday against the Bucs. His next chance to suit up comes during Aug. 23's exhibition finale against the Atlanta Falcons. Fantasy managers are still waiting for the former No. 1 overall pick to take a big step forward, but Lawrence did register a career-high 7.1 yards per attempt across 564 pass attempts in 2023 and possesses enough dual-threat ability to rank on the QB1/2 borderline.

According to head coach Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (calf) is dealing with a mild calf injury that has sidelined him for joint practices against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Saturday's preseason game. Kirk is scheduled for re-evaluation next week. The Jaguars plan to rest key players, including Kirk, in the upcoming game against Tampa Bay, having already given most of their top players only brief appearances in the preseason opener against the Chiefs. With three and a half weeks remaining before the regular season opener, the mild calf injury is not expected to jeopardize Kirk's availability for the start of the season. Kirk, who became the Jaguars' No. 1 receiver in 2022 after signing a four-year, $72 million contract with $37 million guaranteed, had a standout season, catching 84 passes for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns. Although Kirk missed the final five games of the 2023 season due to a core muscle injury that required surgery, he is anticipated to play a significant role in the Jaguars' offense in 2024. Mainly as the Jaguars help their two new wide receivers, Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr., adapt to their system. Parker Washington took over Kirk's starting role when he went out, showing he would be the wide receiver to pick up off waivers if Kirk misses any time.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence will suit up and start in the team's first preseason game of the year against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday at EverBank Stadium. Head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday before the team's 11th camp practice that he intends to play the team's penciled-in starters for a "series or two" to get their feet wet as he's done in the past. Lawrence will suit up for the first time since signing his record-setting $275 million contract extension. The 24-year-old former No. 1 overall pick is coming off a fairly disappointing season from a fantasy perspective, throwing just 21 touchdowns with a pedestrian 7.1 yards per attempt in 16 appearances, but he did deal with four separate injuries at various points during the year. To begin the season, Lawrence belongs on the QB1/2 borderline after Jacksonville ran the sixth-most team pass plays per game (36.5) in 2023.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis (knee) was spotted at Thursday's practice in training camp. Davis missed some time late last season with the Buffalo Bills due to a sprained PCL, but it looks like he'll be a full participant at camp to begin familiarizing himself with Jacksonville's offense ahead of the Aug. 10 preseason opener against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs. The 25-year-old deep threat was as erratic as ever in 2023, going catchless in four games during the regular season and exceeding 20 fantasy points on five other occasions, and he'll battle for targets on the perimeter with rookie first-rounder Brian Thomas Jr. in 2024. Star quarterback Trevor Lawrence has formed a clear connection with slot man Christian Kirk over the past two years, so Davis is likely going to give both the Jags and fantasy managers plenty of headaches as a weekly boom-or-bust WR4/flex option this fall.