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The Jacksonville Jaguars are now in their third week of organized team activities (OTAs) and there are still a few players sitting out who’ve missed essentially the entire three weeks of field work. One of those players who has been out is veteran free agent signing Barry Church, who’s slated to be the replacement to Johnathan Cyprien at safety. With Church out however, it’s allowed second-year safety Jarrod Wilson to get a lot of reps in practice and show the coaching staff what he’s capable of.
“I think he can, I really do,” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said on Monday after practice when asked if Wilson could play a bigger role in 2017. “I think that from what he has shown so far. I think if what he has shown can carry over to when we put pads on, then most definitely. I think he has worked extremely hard. I think he is a player that has been here the whole time in the offseason. He has really worked hard. I don’t think he has had much production before in the past.”
Wilson originally joined the Jaguars last season as an undrafted free agent, after starting 30 games for Michigan. Wilson was a 2015 All-Big Ten honorable mention and played all over the secondary, though mostly at safety. He made the Jaguars last season based on his special teams play and his play when James Sample went down with injury again.
From the sounds of it, Wilson could actually play Sample right off the roster.
“I think, again, sometimes when people aren’t able to go out there, some opportunity opens up – sometimes you get disappointed. You are like, ‘Ugh, maybe this person is not the answer’,” Marrone continued about Wilson. “Then sometimes you are like, ‘Woah, wait a minute now, this person may be the answer.’ I think Jarrod has put himself in a position to be like, ‘Hey, this person may be an answer back there for us,’ which is great.”
As Marrone mentioned, we still need to see if Wilson’s play will carry over when the team puts on pads and in the preseason, but with Barry Church sidelined for now, Wilson is definitely taking advantage of his opportunities and the coaches are noticing.