AFC Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Texans

Colts

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor believes the expectations from the coaching staff and teammates helped him prepare for his rookie season.

“It really primed me, catapulted me into the offseason, understanding that that’s going to be the expectations now from my coaches and teammates,” Taylor said, via Kevin Patra of Around the NFL. “You put those things on film. They say your film is your resume. So now that my teammates are expecting it out of me, my coaches are catapulting me into the offseason to continue working and training to try and come into this training camp being able to be prepared and pick up where I left off.”

When asked if he thinks the Colts’ offensive line would take a dip without G Quenton Nelson (foot) in the lineup, Taylor said Indianapolis would be fine despite him being one of the best guards in the league. 

“Quenton is an amazing player,” Taylor said. “He’s probably the best guard in the National Football League, but the entire line, the guys that we have up front … our entire line upfront, those guys are super smart, and those guys are very, very talented and gifted physically. So I would have to deny those allegations, deny those claims because the room that we have up front is incredible.”

• Mike Chappell reports that Colts’ rookie DE Kwity Paye sustained a sprained right ankle in Wednesday’s practice. Its severity is currently unclear. 

• Ian Rapoport points out that Colts’ backup QB Sam Ehlinger appears to have taken more first-team reps in training camp than Jacob Eason with Carson Wentz (foot) out. 
• According to Rapport, the Colts want to evaluate their internal options before determining whether they should make a trade and would like to go forward with Ehlinger or Eason. 

Jaguars

Regarding Jaguars CB C.J. Henderson missing the first 11 days of training camp after recent trade rumors, assistant HC/ILBs coach Charlie Strong said he visited the cornerback with HC Urban Meyer but he did not take a lot of convincing in order to return. 

“We didn’t have to go get him to come to the facility, just had a conversation with him,” Strong said, via John Reid of the Florida Times-Union. “Anytime you have a great young man like that, you want to make sure you do everything possible to help him. We know he can make us a lot better football team. He wants to play. He is going to do everything he can to get back.”

Strong couldn’t say whether Henderson was back up to full speed given Tuesday was his first day back at practice. 

“It is hard to say if he’s back full time because it was his first day,” Strong said. “We are going have to work through it and we have to do everything we can to get him in position to come back and go to work for us.”

• Jaguars S Josh Jones said DC Joe Cullen‘s system will feature a lot of players moving around: “It’s a mix of a lot things and it’s pretty cool. It’s definitely different than the one last year. This defense is for guys to fly around. We’re going to lead the league in effort.” (John Oehser)
• Jones mentioned that Cullen will have many blitzes and zone packages in order to stay unpredictable: “It’s crazy. You’ve got things flying from everywhere. It’s not just, ‘You line up in one defense and you’re playing it.’ You’ve got coverages here, blitz here and doing this, this and that.” (John Oehser)

Texans

• Texans’ rookie TE Brevin Jordan said the speed of the NFL has been the “biggest adjustment” for him this offseason and praised second-year DE Charles Omenihu: “Whew, blocking is hard in the NFL. That’s probably the biggest adjustment. I’m blocking guys like Chuck (Charles Omenihu), and man, those dudes are so big. They’re so long. But I’m slowly getting into the groove of it.” (Aaron Wilson)