Evan Engram says he “needed Jacksonville” and Christian Kirk calls route running “an art”

Tight end Evan Engram made an appearance on the 2nd Wind podcast. Engram said he had the best time of his life during the 2022 season with the Jaguars and that he “needed Jacksonville” after playing for the New York Giants. Engram spoke about his time with the Giants and getting back on track mentally after his confidence shattered in New York. You can find the full episode here. Now if we could get him locked into a contract, that would be great.

After a decade of growing their brand in the UK, the Jaguars have expanded their marketing rights! As part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, the team has expanded into the Republic of Ireland. When asked about being awarded the rights, owner Shad Khan stated:

The Pittsburgh Steelers were also awarded marketing rights in the Republic of Ireland. To answer the question as to whether or not the Jaguars will play in Ireland/lose another game:

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated the intent behind the Jaguars playing back-to-back games in London is to see “the impact of it and learn from it”, and that the NFL would “possibly” try three international games at some point. (Deep breath) I sincerely hope the Jaguars do not start playing three international games during the season unless they’re all away games.

Kay Adams of the Up & Adams Show thinks the Jaguars are “ready to handle being the AFC South favorites”. Adams noted the Jaguars have a first-place schedule in comparison to the rest of the AFC South and stated she thinks the team is “up for the task”.

While speaking with Kay Adams, Matt Hamilton explained that he thought the addition of Calvin Ridley will help elevate Trevor Lawrence in the MVP conversation:

Big G from Good Morning Football made three predictions for the upcoming 2023 season. The first is: The Jaguars will be a top 3 AFC team and Trevor Lawrence will be a finalist for MVP.

In more Jaguars hype, NFL reporter Cameron Wolfe talked about how he thinks the Jaguars are coming for the top of the AFC. Wolfe stated he noticed “the culture shifting about midseason when Trevor Lawrence realized ‘I’m him’”.

Safety Rayshawn Jenkins spoke on playing with new wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Jenkins noted, “It just looks different” when playing with Ridley during OTAs.

Coach Doug Pederson spoke on Rayshawn Jenkins and called him “One of those guys that you lean on.”

Wide receiver Christian Kirk spoke to the media about improving his game, Calvin Ridley, and the wide receiver room. Kirk stated, “Me, Zay, all the other guys, you know we all kind of just hit ideas off of one another because route running is an art”.

Some news around the NFL:

A bylaw was approved to allow a third quarterback to be active without using a roster spot. NFL owners have agreed to a one-year trial of spotting the ball on the 25-yard line following a fair catch inside the 25-yard line of a kickoff. I can get behind the new third quarterback bylaw but I do not understand spotting a fair catch at the 25-yard line. The locations for the 2025 Draft and 2026 Super Bowl were announced. The 2025 draft will be held in Green Bay and Levi’s Stadium will host its second Super Bowl in 2026.

To read about day one of Jaguars OTAs, click here
To read tidbits from episode 2 of The Hunt, click here
To read about Riley Patterson being traded and Brandon McManus being signed, click here