Big Cat Country
Brian Thomas Jr. spoke at the podium after delivering a beastly performance during practice on Thursday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars continued their offseason Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Thursday. Here are our takeaways from the practice field and ensuing media availability.
Press conference takeaways
Head coach Liam Coen addressed media for the first time since the team added Dennis Gardeck, Dawuane Smoot, and Trenton Irwin via free agency.
“Yeah, just a ton of respect for [Gardeck] competing against him two times a year in L.A. since 2018. Every time we would go play the Arizona Cardinals, he was on the game-wrecker board ... whether it was originally for special teams, and then also for rushing the passer and creating some disruption. It just gives us somebody a little bit different kind of style rusher, special teams demon. He was a captain in Arizona on special teams. He had three sacks in a game last year. Not sure how many people did that this past season, but he did and had an interception in the following game. So you’re just looking at continuing to find guys that can disrupt the game in a specific way, whether it’s in the DPR or on special teams.”
“[Smoot] obviously has roots in this area and has strong friendships with some of the guys on the team. And then when you talk to guys that maybe have not been in this building, Eric Ciano, our strength coach, was with him in Buffalo and he just said he was a tireless worker in the weight room, on the practice field, consistently going. You kind of had to pull him back at times, and that was something that continuing to get a little bit of veteran presence, guys that have played meaningful reps in this league that can give us some meaningful snaps hopefully and continue to create that competition we’re looking for.”
“Just the type of person that [Irwin] is that we’ve heard from Zac [Taylor] and those guys in Cincinnati. Just continuing to develop the roster, really. So far, he’s been a great guy to kind of get to know a little bit, and he’ll continue to learn the offense as we go here.”
Other than a thoughtful response to a question on Trevor Lawrence posted below, Coen didn’t have much else to share. He admitted, “I can’t really single any [rookie] out specifically that I think that’s like, ‘Wow, oh my goodness, this has been amazing,’” and he described his recent first pitch at the Jumbo Shrimp game as “A change-up right down the pipe. Might have gone 400 over the left center field for somebody else, but I think it was about what I was hunting up.”
“When you look at maybe the first few days of OTAs and really even phase two that we were out here on the grass, I think his footwork has drastically improved. The rhythm of playing the position in every system is...
