General manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen will get the opportunity to see their master plan for the 2026 season on the field for the first time on May 8 as the Jacksonville Jaguars open up their rookie minicamp.

Despite not having a first-round selection in this year’s draft after trading up for Travis Hunter in 2025 and having a relatively quiet free-agency period, the Jaguars beefed up the roster with 10 selections in the 2026 draft and then signed another 14 players as undrafted free agents.

While the majority of the Jacksonville roster that won 13 games and won its first AFC South Division title since 2022 remains intact for 2026, a number of backup positions will be up for grabs once camp opens up at the Miller Electric Center.

Here are a few of the key position battles fans should be watching this offseason.

Veteran guards Ezra Cleveland and Patrick Mekari combined to start 30 games, and helped lead a rushing attack that averaged 115.1 yards per game. While Cleveland and Mekari are entrenched as the starters, second-year guards Wyatt Milum, Jerome Carvin and Sal Wormley will battle with 2026 third-round selection Emmanuel Pregnon for a back up role. 

Milum saw the most action as a back up last season appearing in 10 games. Coming out of Oregon, Pregnon is 6-foot-6 and 297 pounds and earned a 86.7 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus which was second best among all FBS guards in 2026.

The Jaguars have one of the fiercest passing-rushing duos in the NFL in Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen. Walker and Hines-Allen combined for 11.5 sacks last season, but as a team, Jacksonville finished 27th in the league with just 32 team sacks. To help get more production out of the pass rush, Gladstone used two of his 10 picks in this year’s draft to select Wesley Willams out of Duke and Zach Durfee out of Washington. 

Williams was taken in the fourth round after racking up 9.5 sacks in his final two seasons for the Blue Devils and will likely be in the rotation. Durfee was a seventh-round pick who had 4.0 sacks for the Huskies and will be fighting for snaps with BJ Green II, who played in 14 games for the Jaguars last season and had 2.0 sacks. 

Second-year backs Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. gave Gladstone and Coen the confidence to let Travis Etienne Jr. go in free agency in the offseason. While signaling they were comfortable with the running backs on the roster, including bringing back DeeJay Dallas, the Jaguars did sign veteran goal-line back Chris Rodriguez in free agency and later signed undrafted free agent J’Mari Taylor out of Virginia. 

Depending on how many running backs the Jaguars decide to keep on the roster this season, Dallas and Taylor provide Jacksonville with options on special teams. After being signed from the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad in December, Dallas played in three games and averaged 30.0 yards per kickoff return. In his lone season at Virginia Taylor rushed for more than 1,000 yards, had 43 receptions and led the ACC in total touchdowns with 15.

Hunter and Montaric Brown, who resigned with Jacksonville this offseason, give the Jaguars a formidable combination on the outside. However, behind Hunter and Brown, the cornerback room is thin on experience. The battle for the backup spots will come down to two players who have yet to play a game for Jacksonville and two undrafted free agents.

Keni-H Lovely and Keith Taylor remain on the roster but did not see the field last season. After the draft, the Jaguars signed Preston Hodge out of Colorado and Devon Marshall out of NC State. Although undrafted, Hodge led the Big 12 Conference in passes defended (13) last season and Marshall led all of the FBS in passes defended with 16. 

As the offseason workout program progresses, several rookies and second-year players could become household names in Duval County.

Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!