Over the course of Dave Caldwell’s tenure as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ general manager, he’s seen many of his draft picks get cut — and that will once again be the case after training camp. In the early stages, it’s looking like there won’t be a huge amount of turnover, but here are three players Caldwell drafted who appear to be on the bubble.
DL Dawuane Smoot (Pick No. 68 of the 2017 draft)
Just last year fans were wondering if Smoot would make the team, but it appears he’s really on the roster bubble heading into 2019’s training camp. Right now, the arrow seems to be pointing up for him as he bulked up to 286 pounds and has been getting looks at defensive tackle in addition to defensive end.
On top of becoming more versatile, defensive coordinator Todd Wash praised Smoot for his efforts before and during offseason training activities and minicamp. In a nutshell, Smoot had to step up and take more snaps with defensive end Yannick Ngakoue holding out for a contract and rookie Josh Allen being injured with a knee contusion. That could definitely prove to be his gain as he’ll have plenty of momentum heading into training camp and could be the guy who continues to see an extensive role if Ngakoue is still holding out.
QB Tanner Lee (Pick No. 203 of the 2018 draft)
After improving late in 2018’s training camp, Lee was placed on the Jags’ practice squad as a developmental quarterback. Unfortunately for him, the competition looks to be a little stronger this year at the quarterback position as Alex McGough exited minicamp with the slight edge to be the team’s No. 2 signal-caller. Behind him is rookie Gardner Minshew, who is now in the situation Lee was in last year. If the quarterback pecking order holds as it currently is, that means Nick Foles and McGough would make the team, while Minshew would be named to the practice squad and Lee could be the odd man out.
With the staff high on Minshew’s IQ behind center and anxious about his development, it’s already looking like it will be hard for Lee to beat out Minshew in training camp. In fact, the only way to potentially get a practice squad spot may be to absolutely blow Minshew out of the water, which might not be an easy task for Lee.
OL Will Richardson (Pick No. 129 of the 2018 draft)
Last year, there was a point and time where many felt the Jags would start grooming Richardson to be the successor to either right tackle Jermey Parnell or right guard A.J. Cann, but here we are in 2019 and neither happened. In the process of that, the team came out to basically say he’d solely stick to the right tackle position, however, the team is now deep on the outside and needs his help in the interior.
Like Smoot, Richardson has gotten off to a solid preseason after being utilized at multiple spots and coach Doug Marrone has even praised him in the process. He took snaps with the first-team in the place of Andrew Norwell during minicamp and OTAs, who missed time dealing with a left ankle injury. When training camp begins, Norwell will be back, but that doesn’t mean Richardson won’t receive more opportunities because the depth behind the veteran and Cann is questionable.
That said, all Richardson has to do is translate his minicamp success to padded practices and he’ll make the team as a top reserve. However, if he struggles it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jags move on.
