Jaguars' Jeff Cotton Jr. keeps battling in his quest to crack a crowded wide receiver room
On a night when the Jaguars' defense was roughing up the offense, wide receiver Jeff Cotton Jr. made a smooth move after catching a pass from C.J. Beathard that left cornerback Tre Herndon with nothing but two handfuls of air — while Cotton was sprinting down the sideline.
Monday was another good training camp practice for Cotton, the second-year pro who is waging an uphill battle trying to make the Jaguars for the second year in a row.
It also took some of the bad taste of a play against Cleveland last week in which cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. reached over Cotton, snatched a pass from Beathard away, turned and sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown with 41 seconds left in the half.
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If Cotton had won the 50-50 ball, the Jags would have had a first down at the Browns. 25.
"I put that all on me," Cotton said after Monday's practice at TIAA Bank Field. "It was a freakish-type play you see but it's a lesson for me. I'll learn from it and move on from there."
Cotton 'competing'
Cotton has had three targets in each of the first two preseason games and has failed to make a catch. But he's made enough plays during training camp — such as the one against Herndon — to escape the first round of cuts and keep himself in play for a spot in a talented and crowded wide receiver room.
“He’s still competing, still doing a nice job, not only as a receiver but on special teams," Jags coach Doug Pederson said. "Just keep his head up and keep moving.”
Pederson wasn't putting all the blame on Cotton for the interception and subsequent touchdown.
"It’s a little bit of everything — understanding the situation of the game, where we were, around a minute to go," Pederson said. "We weren’t in a two-minute scenario because we were on the plus side of the field with a chance to get three points right there.
"We had a couple options to go other places with the football that C.J. had, but at the same time, he chose to go that way, and that’s fine. We’ve just got to make the play or at least knock it down. Tough play just because of the twisting and turning, but I’d say that’s a great play by the DB, too, to get it out of his hands.”
Cotton took it all on his shoulders.
"C.J. trusted me to make a play," he said. "I should have had it."
Jags bring Cotton back
Cotton (6-feet-2, 204 pounds) was on the practice squad most of last season after he was cut by the Los Angeles Chargers and signed by the Jaguars.
He was activated for one game, against the Patriots, and had 14 special-teams snaps and one on offense, with no statistics.
However, Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke thought enough of Cotton to offer him a future/reserve contract Jan. 10 and quarterback Trevor Lawrence thought enough of Cotton to include him on a trip to the Bahamas with other skill-position players for a pre-training camp working vacation.
There's a lot to like. Cotton went the junior college route coming out of high school in Tucson, Ariz., and was a JUCO All-American at Pima College, catching 43 passes for 837 yards and six touchdowns in 2016.
Cotton then went to Idaho, where he used his size and speed to put up mind-boggling numbers for the Vandals in 2019. He led Football Championship Subdivision receivers with 8.8 receptions and 114.1 yards per game, led the Big Sky with 88 receptions (for 1,076 yards) and had an other-worldly game to end the season when he caught 18 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns against Northern Arizona, both school records.
Cotton was a third-team FCS All-American but went undrafted and the Chargers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He never appeared in a game and after he was released, the Jags signed him early in training camp last July, cut him a month later, but resigned him to the practice squad.
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Cotton has been a good trooper for the Jags. But the odds against him got tougher when the team brought in free agents Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, and tight end Evan Engram.
Cotton said he's tried to soak in the knowledge and experience they have to offer, and use his struggle to get better.
"It's cool to be in that room with those guys," he said. "All types of guys, from different areas, different experiences, different backgrounds ... I'm trying to learn from all of them. They're all a bunch of good guys, the kind of guys you can lean on. I love them all."
Cotton has been in Jacksonville more than a year, and he admits it's been a difference after growing up in Arizona, playing college in Idaho and spending one season in L.A.
He's been able to lean on one of his teammates at Idaho, Clay graduate Aundre Carter, and family members who are living here.
"Having that support system has really helped being out here," he said. "Last week was an up-and-down week for me and I was in my head a little after the game. But I talked to family, Aundre and they keep my head right, help me keep me stay where my feet are and stay in the present."
And his chances on making the team?
"I don't try to look at what's going to happen at the end of camp," he said. "I'm taking one step at a time."
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars Jeff Cotton Jr. staying grounded in quest to again make the team
