Lemon Pepper Dreams: Snoop Conner got draft call from Jaguars while at Wingstop

The Jaguars finished in the bottom half of total rushing yards last season.

A pre-season injury to Travis Etienne and late season injury to James Robinson ended both rushers' seasons prematurely.

With them both coming back from long-term injuries, it was important for Jacksonville to address the running back room in either free agency or the draft.

The opted for the latter when they selected Snoop Conner in the fifth round out of Ole Miss in April.

Now, Conner is gearing up for his first NFL training camp and a potentially larger role than he might’ve expected originally.

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Lemon Pepper Dreams

When Conner was drafted by the Jaguars, he was picking up wings gifted to him from Wingstop. He was in the middle of getting his 60-piece lemon pepper, mild and a third flavor that he couldn’t remember, when he saw the Jacksonville number come across his phone.

“It’s crazy, I was at Wingstop when they called me and I saw a Jacksonville number and just instantly knew it was [the Jaguars],” Conner said with a smile growing across his face. “It was a surreal moment … I had my family with me. We were all around just watching the draft and stuff and I had them with me.”

Jacksonville traded up in the fifth round to select Conner. He was a heavily evaluated player this offseason and the team liked his skillset.

Conner scored 26 touchdowns in his three years at Ole Miss. He picked up 1,580 yards on 304 rushing attempts and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

He was mostly used in short yardage situations but flashed the ability to perform in other roles like catching passes out of the backfield.

“He’s got really good size and quickness,” head coach Doug Pederson said after drafting him. “He is really good out of the back field as well and has good hands. He can be used first, second and third down because of his size. Again, just a back than give us that depth that we look for and give us that competition.”

Another draw was Conner’s special teams capabilities. Returner Jamal Agnew is another player that is working his way back from injury and Conner has routinely been a part of the group that has fielded kickoffs and punts in his absence.

It’s a role he’s comfortable with and more than willing to step into if he’s asked to do so.

“At Ole Miss I was on kickoff returns, I was catching kickoffs back there,” he said. “I’m used to it. It’s nothing new here, I’m just filling in.”

Read the Room

Etienne was the major story out of the running back room during the offseason workouts and team activities. He showed elite speed and versatility, drawing comparisons to Deebo Samuel and Alvin Kamara.

Then towards the end of minicamp, James Robinson spoke with the media but kept his injury timetable under wraps. He was seen working out individually and with the training staff but looked far from full speed.

Conner has seized the most of this opportunity by taking a few extra reps he might not have seen if Robinson was farther along in his recovery.

According to him, the two backs have helped him acclimate to the league.

“It’s been a good relationship,” Conner said on his relationship with Etienne and Robinson. “When I first came, they welcomed me in. They’re teaching me the plays and just being a veteran. Bringing me along and trying to get me right and get me adapted to the NFL.”

He was in a similar situation at Ole Miss where he split time, but to Conner it was a bonus. It kept his mileage down and taught him how to be patient.

“Actually, that taught me a lot of patience in college like how to sit back and just control what you can control and just always compete,” he said on Zoom after he was drafted. “But I’ll be ready to come to this and I’m ready to compete and try to take over the room.”

The Rookie and the Vet

Running back coach Bernie Parmalee—like several other coaches on Jacksonville’s staff—has playing experience in the NFL. He spent seven years with the Dolphins and two years with the Jets, rushing for 2,179 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career.

He has 14 years of coaching experience and is in his second year with the Jaguars. He’s coached for the Falcons, Raiders, Kansas City, Miami and Notre Dame. He’s coached players to Pro Bowl selections and helped young players throughout his career.

And he’s liked what he’s seen from Conner so far.

“He doesn’t complain about anything, when his number is called, he goes in and he’s ready,” Parmalee said on the fifth-rounder. “The guys have really accepted him. He fits right in. He’s got a little nastiness to him too, that’s what I like about him. He’s got that little confidence about him like all the guys we have in the room.”

With most veterans being excused from mandatory minicamp, it allowed younger players like Conner to eat away at a few more reps and get personal time with coaches during the last week of the offseason.

There was a drill Parmalee conducted where Conner was in the back of the line, observing.

Parmalee and another coach used a foam pad to hit players on their arms as they carried the ball, simulating contact of a player trying to jar a ball loose.

When it was Conner’s turn, he exploded through the contact.

“Yeah, I like that, Snoop,” Parmalee exclaimed as the rookie trotted back to the other players.

It was a small instance but the type of impact that goes a long way when coaches are putting together a game plan and depth chart.

Because of rules to protect players, running back is a position that can be difficult to properly evaluate during offseason camp.

So, the jury is still out on how productive Conner can be in the NFL. But keep an eye on him during training camp and throughout the pre-season.

“The only thing you can go on is what you’ve seen on tape before and what they possibly can be,” Parmalee said on the difficulty to evaluate running backs during minicamp. “Then when you get into [training] camp, you can evaluate a skillset and things like that, but you’ve got to use the preseason to try to get that answer.”

Juston Lewis is a sports reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Rookie running back Snoop Conner grows with Jaguars