2012 Jaguars Training Camp: Receiver Battle Will Be Interesting

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have an interesting cut down at the wide receiver position. Presuming the top four spots are Laurent Robinson, Justin Blackmon (when he signs), Cecil Shorts III, and Mike Thomas; the final position will be a dog fight between four players, in my opinion. For this discussion, the belief that Thomas is on the bubble will be suspended and he will be counted in the top four, even though I still think he's a potential cut if his play does not dramatically improve.

If the Jaguars decide to keep five wide receivers, the final spot is likely to come down to either veterans Lee Evans, Brian Robiskie, Taylor Price, or undrafted free agent Kevin Elliot. While Mike Brown's name missing might be an eyebrow raiser for some, he's disappeared throughout the week and has struggled to catch the football.

Evans started to come on late in the week, finally making some plays, but there is still the concern of his ability to stay healthy and what all he really brings to the table. A guy like Robiskie however brings some much needed size to the position and for the most part has been solid through training camp. Price has big play potential, but he's often one of the receivers getting reamed out by wide receiver coach Jerry Sullivan for dropping the football or rounding off a route.

Kevin Elliot is really the most interesting of the bunch, since he brings size, downfield speed, and great hands. I don't want to oversell Elliot too much, because a lot of what he's done has been in skeleton drills and one-on-one situations, but the kid just has a knack for making plays. In one-on-one drills he has a knack for getting serperation deep down the field and making circus catches, even with bodies draped on him.

While all that is nice for Elliot, where he's really going to have to shine is on special teams, and that's how he's going to make the football team. Late in the week, Elliot was playing the gunner position on punt coverage in Kassim Osgood's old position. If Elliot can prove to be an effective player in that regard during the preseason, he's got probably the best shot of the four to make the final 53.