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MOST IMPROVED JAGUARS IN 2026?! · Duval Daily: A Jacksonville Jaguars Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacksonville Jaguar's fans welcome in to do vault daily presented by Genjag.com and fueled by brass tax coffee, best coffee and town right now we are talking who will be the most improved Jaguars in 2026 compared to what happened in 2025.
• 0:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: I've got a list of five players here four of which I'm feeling a very high level of confidence in.
• 0:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: The final one is a bit of a wild card, but we're going to dive into it.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Really appreciate y'all being here.
• 0:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: You can also hit that high button.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to get it kicked off here.
• 0:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: This isn't an order necessarily, but we're going to kick off here with Bacial Tutan.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is a player who
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Last year was really, really focused on not fumbling the football.
• 0:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that needs to remain a focus.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like Tutton put the ball on the ground too much during his two years at Virginia Tech, explosive player, electric player, but he put the ball on the ground a little bit too much.
• 0:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Last year took care of the football pretty well.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he can continue to do that, but he looks more confident in his just kind of playmaking, kind of freelancing out there a little bit, and freelancing can be a negative term, but just his ability with the ball in his hands.
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: to be a little bit more creative.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think you're seeing that the agility, the instincts a little bit more and no, they have not put on pads yet.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: But you saw some of it, what you saw mostly last year was the speed explosiveness, acceleration, and finish.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: He finishes run strong.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's what you saw most of last year.
• 1:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: You didn't see as much of the creativity, but the creativity is there I think he's gonna have an opportunity to have a bigger role this year Yes Chris Rodriguez is in town.
• 1:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes Lee Quinn Allen is still still around.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: You've got some other competition as well for the back into the roster But right now Chris Rodriguez He hasn't been playing facial toot and has and he's been looking really good.
• 2:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think you know the jacks drafted him in the fourth round for a reason
• 2:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: They really valued his skill set, and Liam Cohen has been a highly complimentary of what he has done, basaltooten, so far this year, saying he just looks a lot more comfortable.
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: And ready to go.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think Tutan is going to look like a much better player.
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he was already, you know, one of the more efficient runners if you talk about success rate.
• 2:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was one of the more successful runners in football last year.
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: You give him more opportunities, get him a little bit more comfortable, and the sky could be the limit for a player who has home run speed and a lot of creativity, agility, and runs with some power behind those pads.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, yeah, I'm excited to see Basel Tutan for sure.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: I've also got Trayvon Walker on this list, and Trayvon, he had a tough season.
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: When it comes to injury, right?
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: broke his hand, he also had a knee injury that he was playing through, so it wasn't his best year in terms of, you know, past rush, production, getting sacks, but I think that he's going to play at a level that is going to be worthy of being, you know, in the mix for making
• 3:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: But like a proble level player is like somebody who's probably playing in their conference at like top three to top five at the position that they're playing and when you talk about edge players and it gets to like 10 deep probably I think he can play in that range because
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: being challenged by Liam Cohen to be a dominant player, prior to the start of many camp and the offseason program and then Liam Cohen sang after many camp that he feels like Trevon Walker stepped up to that challenge.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that we're trending in a direction where Trevon Walker is going to be looked at as a
• 4:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: a pressure on defensive end in the AFC and that's not just as a past pressure, obviously it's we were on defender.
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: First, a playmaker, somebody who hustles his butt off all the time and is going to rack up pressures and he's going to get more sexist here.
• 4:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's going to get his third double digit sack season in the last four years.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he would have done that last year if he was not dealing with so many different injuries.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think Trablem Walker,
• 4:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: is going to be improved greatly improved from a statistical standpoint with the sack production, but also I think he's going to have a more dominant pass rush.
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: then he displayed even, you know, in 2024 when he had, what, 56 pressures and double digit sacks and all that good stuff while defending the run at a high level.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think he's gonna be one of the most balanced defensive ends in the AFC.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's not taking anything away from Josh Hines Allen who has been an absolute stud and I think we'll still be the leader for the Jaguar's Edge Group.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Up next, we've got BTJ.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Brian Thomas Jr. We've talked about Brian Thomas Jr. a lot here on the channel.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people have talked to love about Brian Thomas Jr.
• 5:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it just feels different.
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: It feels different right now than it ever has with Brian Thomas Jr. at this point in the offseason program.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: During his rookie year it was a little slow going until the joint practices with the
• 5:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: kind of trended into the regular season.
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's looked, lights out.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's looked awesome for the Jaguar so far.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's looked locked in.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he, in interviews and on the field, you can tell there's a different mindset of different maturity about Brian Thomas Jr. going into his third year in the league.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's going to serve him incredibly well.
• 6:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: We know what type of talent he has.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's going to show off in a big way in 2026.
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Up next is Travis Hunter.
• 6:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really don't think Travis Hunter needed much work on corner.
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: So like this is not about corner as much.
• 6:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's more about receiver where, let's face it.
• 6:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's been, even though he's not practicing, he is putting in more work at receiver right now.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Every single practice that they've had, he has been locked in on the offense.
• 6:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I should say every single practice that they have had that the media has been.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Attended, which I don't know what they've done on the days where he's where the media is not there, but He's been more focused on offense and that's not to say he's not gonna play defense.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: He is But I think the practice you need more practice on the offense is either the ball He doesn't need that practice as much on defense and obviously during the season You got to practice you got to focus you got to lock in you got to do double time
• 7:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: not literally double time, but you got to do a lot of extra work if you're Travis Hunter, and that's just the way it is, and he's built for that.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he has been locked in on offense, getting into the, um, the huddle, exiting the huddle, like literally going through everything he would be doing if he was actually taking snaps, and he's supposed to be a full go for the starter training camp, which is just over a month away now.
• 7:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that he's going to be a
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean he made incredible plays.
• 7:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: He made plays down the field.
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: He made plays with the ball on his hands.
• 7:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: He made just some highlight real grabs, but
• 7:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think you're going to see a high level of attention to detail and consistency from Travis Hunter, the receiver in 2026.
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just because he's not going to be swimming as much, I mean, he was learning and NFL offense and it complicated complex NFL offense after never really having having had a real offense at Colorado, a real route tree and like the assignments of a receiver, like they did not really prepare him as a receiver to be
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: High level NFL from the moment he got here with the attention of detail on his route running and timing.
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguars have now been with him for over a year, working on this stuff, would have been nice that we didn't get injured, absolutely, but it is what it is.
• 8:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: I still think he's going to be in a much better head space to be a more efficient receiver on all the different routes.
• 8:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like, yes, it was easy to get the ball on his hands and let him do something.
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: It was easy to target him down field, right?
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think that some of the more intermediate stuff is what takes more timing and efficiency and attention to detail.
• 8:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: just having been in this offense longer and then the final one is a little bit of a wild card.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's an interesting one for me because it's Walker Little and this is not popular to talk about right now but Walker Little prior to last year had played good football.
• 9:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like the the previous regime they didn't just sign him for no reason.
• 9:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't just because he was a former
• 9:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Credit work credits do walker little played well when he filled in at right guard last year.
• 9:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: I thought he played well.
• 9:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I left tackle.
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: It was a different story.
• 9:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: He did not play his best ball and he had a, frankly, a lot of really, really bad games against the Texans against the Neil Hunter.
• 9:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was just manhandled, quite frankly, he was.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: I never saw him have a game as bad as multiple games that I saw from him last year.
• 9:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he's going into a year in which he knows he's got to earn it.
• 10:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: He knows that if he wants to start somewhere in the future, he's got to play better football and he has played better football throughout his career than he did last year at left tackle.
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: and you look at his contract, the jacks could end up trading him like, let's say we're just going over hypotheticals here.
• 10:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's say Walker little has to start the season because of Colvin Lannon's injury, his knee injury, that he's recovering from.
• 10:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then Colvin Lannon gets healthy, reassumes the starting left tackle job, and then Walker little's a little bit expendable.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hasn't it say he's expendable because you need a good backup left tackle and that's what he gives you right now But let's just say the jackwars are willing to deal him for the right price teams need him because they have injuries at the position whatever it may be If he gets traded after starting a few games and playing well He could be in line to then be signed by the next team that trades for him a long term.
• 11:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's under contract through 2027
• 11:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I honestly don't think that that contract will be played out in Jacksonville.
• 11:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguars would save almost $11 million by cutting him after the 2026 season.
• 11:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: So to me, he is fighting for a job.
• 11:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Not a, I mean, he can be a backup probably for a long time.
• 11:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: If he just keeps his work ethic up.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: But if he wants to start in the NFL again, which he has the physical ability to start in the NFL, he is a big, you know, kind of prototypical size athletic player who has put on good tape, not all the time, not last year consistently enough, but.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's somebody that could definitely have a much improved season, just based on the fact that he played better than he did last year, pretty much every season of his career, entering last season, and then he's needs it.
• 12:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: He needs to play well if he gets on the field.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: If he has to play for a whole vanline and or if he has to get out there in any other capacity, he needs to play well to show that maybe some team can take a flyer on him as a starter.
• 12:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: and earn some more money down the road.
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: So from our respect, you know, respect standpoint, playing better football and having a starting job in the future, not in Jacksonville and all like Lead, but somewhere.
• 12:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: That'll do it though.
• 12:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that the first four are,
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: going to play better?
• 12:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: The fifth one is just kind of like a hypothetical, he could definitely have a much better season.
• 12:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Walker little, if he gets out there and plays some left tackle.
• 12:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: And plays more like he did before the 2025 season.
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Really appreciate y'all being here.
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 12:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: You can also hit that high button and let me know what you think about this list in the comment section below.
• 13:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all have a great one.