5 Observations on Jaguars Minicamp Day 2

The Jacksonville Jaguars concluded their second practice of this week's minicamp, and we were there for every snap.

So, what did we make of the practice? We break it down below.

Brian Thomas Jr. avoids injury scare

The most important part of Wednesday's practice came about halfway through the day. After star wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. collided with cornerback Tyson Campbell on a pass play, Thomas stayed on the ground for a few minutes before walking inside with trainers. Thomas eventually returned to the sidelines with his helmet, but he did not take another rep.

“Oh yeah, he’s fine. Absolutely could have gone back and played. Just bruised it a little bit. Said he had a great range of motion, strength, he’s all good. So, no issues, just precautionary," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said about Thomas' injury.

It was a great sight to see Thomas quickly get back on the practice field, but you could certainly feel the air come out of the practice facility until it was clear Thomas was good to go.

Secondary has a day

The Jaguars' defense certainly had the advantage on Wednesday. The defense won the third and fourth-down and red-zone reps with a score of 16-11, and it felt on the field like the gap was bigger than that. There was little separation from the receivers, the pass-rush made an impact, and it seemed like the Tyson Campbell-led secondary dominated throughout the afternoon.

Campbell and Jourdan Lewis made impressive plays, Antonio Johnson and Darnell Savage each had interceptions, and even younger defensive backs like Montaric Brown and Christian Braswell got in on the action. Anthony Campanile's unit has impressed, and they made things tough on Trevor Lawrence and the quarterbacks.

Rookie defender makes big play

Offseason practices can often be quiet periods for rookies. In many cases, rookie draft picks are still swimming both mentally and physically as they undergo their first set of NFL practices. It happens each year, but you can see the rookies make gradual improvement as they get more comfortable.

This year is much of the same, but you are starting to see the rookies make more and more plays over the course of practice. This happened especially on Wednesday, with third-round defensive back Caleb Ransaw making his best play of the offseason when he disrupted a would-be touchdown meant for Quintin Morris.

Maason Smith flashes

The Jaguars' second-year defensive tackle is not the most talked-about player on the Jaguars' defense, but there is no question how important Maason Smith's development is for the Jaguars entering the 2025 season. The former LSU star and all-world recruit flashed as a rookie, but consistency is the name of the game this year.

He certainly took a nice step forward on Wednesday. It is hard to evaluate defensive and offensive linemen during non-padded practices, but Smith was all over the field in terms of pressures during team drills, deflected a pass at the line, and also had an interception. It was a strong day for Smith.

Play of the day

The play of the day in Wednesday's practice has to go to Jourdan Lewis. The veteran cornerback has made a lot of plays in recent days, and this time around he made a stellar play against Travis Hunter in the red-zone to prevent a touchdown. He let the rookie know about it, too.