The Jacksonville Jaguars‘ trading for safety Jessie Bates, along with defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Davon Godchaux, is overall good news for the team. However, it is bad news for the development of rookie safety Jalen Huskey and defensive tackle Albert Regis, according to John Shipley of Jaguars OnSI.
Shipley notes that both players have expectations as former third-round picks. However, neither has lived up to expectations, and now both are going to lose work.
“The two players who lost the most playing time, or lost a path to future playing time, after Monday’s moves were both rookies,” wrote Shipley. “Third-round picks Jalen Huskey and Albert Regis have not seen a ton of playing time on defense this year, though Huskey has gotten some snaps in the last two blowouts and Regis cracked the nose tackle rotation in Week 9 after Davon Hamilton’s injury. That likely all changes now, though, starting with Week 10.”
Neither pick was contributing, but now it is nearing a lock that they will not make impacts as rookies.
Jacksonville Jaguars Have Two Rookies Struggling
Huskey was a third-round pick going 100th overall to the Jaguars. However, he was inactive for the first four weeks and only started to have a special teams role in week 5. He’s had three games active and two games on defense, logging 28 snaps.
That includes 18 snaps in Week 8 and 10 snaps in Week 9. However, now that the team has added Jessie Bates, he’s likely to get pushed even further down the depth chart.
The Jaguars currently have Antonio Johnson set to start next to Bates, but they also have Rayuan Lane and Kaevon Merriweather, who are playing ahead of Huskey. With Caleb Ransaw getting special teams snaps ahead of Huskey, he not only is not expected to see the field; he’s expected to be inactive.
Jaguars Not Getting Impact From Huskey or Regis
Regis went 81st overall in the 2026 NFL draft. He got to see the field for the first two weeks, but then was out for Week 3 and then played in Week 4.
Then he was out for Weeks 5 through 8. He only returned to see some snaps in week 9 because DaVon Hamilton went down.
He logged 22 snaps, and he struggled against the run in that performance. The team immediately went out and added two defensive tackles.
It’s notable that Regis has been behind depth defensive tackle Matt Dickerson already, so with the two added names into the mix, there’s a likely chance that Regis will also be inactive.
This is not a good development for the draft class, and both of them will head into their second year as big question marks.
Still, Regis was drafted to replace Hamilton next year, and now Jordan Davis is signed to fill that spot. If the team re-signs Bates, neither will have a role. This is disappointing considering they are both top-100 picks.
Jaguars’Trade Deadline Moves Puts Two Rookies on Notice