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The 2021 season is one that Jacksonville Jaguars fans want to forget. In addition to a league-worst 3-14 record, the team had significant off-field drama involving head coach Urban Meyer. He ended up lasting just 13 games in Jacksonville, despite signing a multi-year and highly lucrative contract, and the franchise is ready for a new beginning.
The Jaguars ended up hiring Super Bowl champion Doug Pederson to fill the head coaching vacancy. And with a new coach, some players must impress if they want to keep their jobs as starters. While some are coming back from injuries, they must still perform well in the preseason games, otherwise, others can jump ahead of them on the depth chart.
Here are two current first-stringers for the Jacksonville Jaguars who are at risk of losing their starting roles by Week 1 of the 2022 regular season.
Jaguars first-stringers in danger of losing starting jobs in 2022
2. OL Tyler Shatley
The Jaguars' front office showed trust in Tyler Shatley after signing him to a two-year extension. Since entering the league in 2014, he has only started 28 out of the 102 games he played, with 18 of them coming in the last two years.
The problem is that most of his starts came at center in relief of Brandon Linder. With the veteran retiring, Shatley's opportunities at the position would likely increase, but the Jaguars went in a different direction.
The team drafted Luke Fortner in the third round of this year's draft. The rookie is already listed as the starting center, while Shatley is the starting left guard.
Shatley will have to once again battle to show the coaching staff he can be a first-stringer in the NFL. Now that the center position is filled out, he will have to show that he can also be a quality starting guard, something he has yet to do in his eight years in Jacksonville. Shatley will have to take this challenge head-on in order to impress his new coaching staff and ensure he enters the season in the starting lineup.
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![Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks on during a rookie minicamp at Miller Electric Center Saturday, May 10, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Liam-Coen-at-Jaguars-OTAs.jpg)
1. RB James Robinson
James Robinson had an impressive rookie season in 2020. He became just the fourth undrafted rookie in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his first season in the league and finished with the record for most scrimmage yards of any undrafted rookie.
After having 1,414 total yards and 10 total touchdowns as a rookie, Robinson's production fell in his sophomore year. In the same number of games, he had less than 1,000 yards combined and just eight total touchdowns. He also tore his Achilles late in the season, making him miss the last few weeks of the season.
Despite the severity of his injury, Robinson is listed as a first-stringer for the upcoming season. However, he will have some added competition for the starting role.
Travis Etienne missed his entire first year in the league due to a Lisfranc injury. Because of that, the Jaguars' 2021 first-round pick is fresh and probably the biggest challenger for Robinson's spot in the starting mix.
During his college years, Etienne was the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Another thing that can help Etienne's case is that he was quarterback Trevor Lawrence's teammate during their years at Clemson. The running back's college performance could also play a role, as he had almost 5,000 rushing yards during his time as a Tiger.
Robinson will have to prove to the new coaching staff that he is ready and back to his best form. Robinson is making excellent progress in his return from the Achilles injury, but as appeared to be their plan when drafting Etienne, his role as the RB1 is far from safe.
