One Position Battle Suddenly Heating Up at Jaguars Minicamp

Roster Battle Heats Up

On both the first day of minicamp and then during Wednesday's practice, the biggest constant has been the standout performance of second-year undrafted cornerback Jabbar Muhammad. The former Oregon cornerback had a stellar first few weeks of OTAs, and it has carried over during minicamp with two interceptions and a handful of pass breakups over the last two practices.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, whois amongst the most transperent coaches in all of the NFL, called Muhammad arguably the team's most improved player after Tuesday's practice. Then after another productive outing on Wednesday, Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile had his chance to praise the young cornerback.

“I think he's improved a ton but just watching him, he's really been super detailed with his technique. I think that's one of the things that shows up," Campanile said.

"Very deliberate like in the way that he's practicing, and I think that's created some takeaways for him and making some plays on the ball. He just always seems to be near the action right now, so he's really done a great job and improved a bunch this spring.”

As a result of Muhammad's breakout, it is fair to wonder whether he is going to take the spot of long-time backup cornerback Christian Braswell. Each are primarily slot cornerbacks, and it remains to be seen whether the Jaguars will carry five or six cornerbacks, which means the likelihood is that there is only room for one of the two.

It was already fair enough to wonder about the safety of Braswell's roster spot after an OTA period where several other young Jaguars cornerbacks stood out. Braswell, a sixth-round pick in the Jaguars' stellar 2023 class, has been a constant on the cornerback depth chart over the last few seasons, but it is hard to think about a Jaguars' 53-man roster right now that doesn't include Muhammad somewhere on it.

Muhammad was already one of the most interesting undrafted players the Jaguars added last season, and they were able to stash him on the practice squad for a developmental season. He has taken the lessons from that season and seemingly ran with them, following up a stellar college career with a strong start to his second season.

Muhammad started all 14 games for Oregon in 2024, earning All-Big Ten Second-Team honors and leading the Ducks and the Big Ten with 12 pass breakups. The year before that, at Washington, he recorded 19 passes defensed five tackles for loss, three interceptions and 2.0 sacks. His 19 passes defensed tied for second nationally and led the Pac 12.

He has always had the talent and production. Now, Muhammad has shown the flashes to potentially take the roster spot of a trusted veteran whom the same Jaguars' coaching staff leaned on last season to fill in at multiple spots on defense as well as on special teams.

Muhammad will of course have to keep his momentum through training camp and then the preseason, but his performance so far has made the battle at cornerback one of the most fascinating to watch this offseason.

"I think Jabbar, he's made a ton of plays out here. You could argue for a most improved for Jabbar really over the last year," Coen said this week. "A guy that really spent the majority of the time last year on practice squad and giving show team reps. He's made so many plays out here. I think we're excited about what he's able to do."

There are very rarely battles won and lost in OTAs and minicamp. Campanile himself noted on Wednesday that, "This stuff in the spring is great, but it don't really matter much what you're doing in your underwear, it's about who's going out there and who's going to be physical when we get back here in the summer."

For Muhammad, that will mean his best chance to stick on the roster and take Braswell's spot will come down to his performance in July and August. But make no mistake, he has put his name in the running to make the Jaguars' 53-man roster after starting as a sleeper.