byJohn Oehser,Brian Sexton&Kainani Stevens

JACKSONVILLEThe Jaguars held Day 1 of their 2025 mandatory minicamp at the Miller Electric Center Tuesday.

Three Jaguars media members senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton and team reporter/producer Kainani Stevens shared an observation following Tuesday's practice. Here they are:

• Senior Writer John Oehser:The tempo increased a bit Tuesday as did the intensity. What remained encouragingly the same on Day 1 of mandatory minicamp Tuesday was quarterback Trevor Lawrence looking increasingly confident and comfortable adapting to first-year Head Coach Liam Coen's offense. That has been a storyline throughout the '25 offseason program and Lawrence, working with a protecting sleeve on his right (throwing) arm, turned in another solid practice Tuesday. His highlight play came later in practice, when he evaded pressure and threw deep to second-year wide receiver Brian Thomas for an explosive-play touchdown. Thomas, a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie, has looked strikingly consistent throughout the offseason and from this view seems poised for a major step up to the upper-tier of NFL wide receivers in Year 2. Also encouraging: The play during the offseason of veteran cornerback Tyson Campbell, who had several noticeable plays Tuesday including a pass defensed on a deep pass to Thomas.

• Senior Correspondent Brian Sexton:Normally, minicamp practice doesn't look much different than organized team activities. You might see an extra team or red-zone period, but overall, most offseason days look and feel the same. That wasn't the case Tuesday. As soon as I walked out the door onto the field at the MEC, I could see this was a different tempo than I expected. "Yes, we upped the level of competition," Coen said. "But you didn't see a million people banging into each other or guys getting banged up. It was cleaner. I was a little concerned with that and that's obviously not what we're trying to get accomplished out of these next few days. But we were keeping score on the competition phase of it, and it was really the red-zone and the third-down periods. We tried to make it a little bit more fun for them." There were some fun matchups, heightened by the competition most entertaining of which was Thomas sparring with Campbell. Both came away with a few plays against the other. Both offensive tackles had their hands full with an edge rush that rotated four bodies and challenged anyone who lined up against Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, Emmauel Ogbah and Dawuane Smoot. It was a fun day.

• Senior Reporter/ Editor J.P. Shadrick:The competition kicked up a notch on the first day of mandatory minicamp. The majority of the Jaguars' roster was also present for OTAs, so the faces were the same, but the pace of practice was closer to what we usually see in training camp. Team periods operated in hurry-up offense at times and overall I was impressed with the defense. The defensive line already seems more cohesive than last season and the defensive backs look markedly better already. The battles between Campbell and Thomas are must-watch and will continue to be throughout training camp.