Progress update: What Jaguars offensive assistants had to say about the team's rookies

The Jacksonville Jaguars have completed the voluntary portion of the offseason, completing nine out of 10 of the team's Organized Team Activities (OTAs) along with mandatory rookie minicamp and other weightlifting sessions.

Though the team will conduct a mandatory minicamp beginning Monday, June 12, and it runs through Wednesday. The three-day affair will be devoid of the majority of veterans after Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson excused most vets from participating for a second-straight year.

Still, the rookies will be there and after having been around coaches for several weeks after being drafted in late April, the team is starting to get a good feel for what they have in the franchise-record 13 selections.

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On Wednesday, we spoke with all of the team's assistant coaches with a rookie in their rooms to get a different perspective of what the team looks to get from their selections.

As part of a two-part series, we will go through each rookie, including a quote from their respective positions coaches.

Up first, we take a look at the team's offensive rookies, including the first three selections of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Jaguars selected six players on the offensive side of the football, leaving seven players on the defensive side of the football.

OT Anton Harrison, Round 1, Pick No. 27

Observations: Harrison, 6-foot-5, 315 pounds looked as advertised during the media availability portions of offseason training.

He's big, appears to have quick feet and is already in line to start at right tackle as left tackle Cam Robinson continues to rehab from a knee injury suffered last year. In Robinson's place, third-year tackle Walker Little has stepped in as he has done in the past.

Without pads, it's impossible to discern exactly how good Harrison will be, but he will be under a bright spotlight as one of Trevor Lawrence's protectors.

Coach's perspective: "Anton has stepped up and done kind of what we expected him to and he's a really good foot athlete and he's taken moving to the right, very naturally, and we're excited about that. He's extremely smart.

"He asks great and thoughtful questions. So we're excited about that. Then overall, even though it's versus air, or just jog through or different things, you could tell he gets it. Things are firing, for him. He's thinking about the right things." - Jaguars offensive line coach Phil Rauscher

TE Brenton Strange, Round 2, Pick No. 61

Observations: Strange, 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, has participated fully in the team's OTAs since suffering a minor injury on the last day of rookie minicamp.

He has had moments throughout practices in the passing game that stands out, including a couple of tough catches across the middle of the field. Still, it will take time for him to acclimate to a brand-new system coming from Penn State.

The Jaguars will have to wait until training camp to get a good look at his blocking ability, but the former Nittany Lion was known for his blocking prowess, so it won't be a surprise to see him excel in that area.

Coach's perspective: "I think that he naturally is kind of growing into being a pro. He's handling everything very well. He's able to take stuff from the classroom without having a million reps and [is] able to get a feel for those things and transfer them on the field. So, I just think he's a smart guy. Obviously, he's a good athlete, he can play multiple positions, so I think he's just a really good addition for us." - Jaguars tight ends coach Richard Angulo

RB Tank Bigsby, Round 3, Pick No. 88

Observations: Bigsby, 6-foot, 213 pounds lives up to his "Tank" nickname, at least for now. Only Qadree Ollison looks bigger at 6-foot-1, 232 pounds. As a running back, Bigsby will have plenty of opportunity to quickly become the team's primary backup back to Travis Etienne and even could out-touch him in some games depending on who has the hot hand.

Still, it will take time for Bigsby to earn significant third-down reps as rookies tend to struggle in pass protection early on in their careers.

Coach's perspective: "I see a young man who loves to play the game, loves to compete. He's bigger than I thought he was. [He's] got good size, got good speed. Just watching [the] tape, he's physical. I like his mindset too. He's really adding to our group. We talked about the culture and added pieces, you know, people that's like-minded. He's one of those guys." - Jaguars RB coach Bernie Parmalee

WR Parker Washington, Round 6, Pick No. 185

Observations: Washington, 5-foot-11, 212 pounds was sidelined for a little while due to an ankle injury suffered at the end of the college football season last year. Still, he was able to ramp up his work a bit as OTAs continued. Washington looks bigger than expected even with average height and is expected to play in the slot in Jacksonville.

While he didn't stand out too much during OTAs, he is also playing behind several returning starters and will take a while to get acclimated to the team's playbook as well as come back from last year's injury. Training camp will be huge for the young receiver who is vying for a roster spot in a crowded room.

Coach's perspective: "Love him. We've kind of tempoed him back a little bit. He hasn't gotten any of the live-action. He does some indie drills but love his movement.

"He's really strong, a strong route-runner but he's also got some quickness. Good hands and we've seen what he can do with the ball in his hands after the catch. So he's going to be an exciting player. I'm really chomping at the bit to work with [him]. We're just kind of holding him back until training camp." - Jaguars WR coach Chad Hall

OT Cooper Hodges, Round 7, Pick No. 226

Observations: Hodges, 6-foot-3, 311 pounds, looks every bit as big as you can expect. Like Harrison, he looks like he belongs on the football field, but it is nearly impossible to tell how good an offensive lineman really is without pads.

Coach's perspective: "I think Cooper's done a really good job since we've brought him in. Overall, he's developing at a rate that we're happy with. He's a strong kid. So, even hitting bags and doing different things, you could tell that the physical aspect of it, once he puts his shoulder pads on, it's not going to be an issue mentally.

"He's really made very few mistakes. He's done a really good job, just overall with the scheme that we put in and we put in pretty much 70 to 80 [percent] of the offense at this point in the offseason. He's developing at a pace that we're really happy with." - Rauscher

FB Derek Parish, Round 7, Pick No. 240

Observations: Parish, 6-foot-1, 241 pounds, looks the part of a fullback. He played on the defensive side of the football throughout his college career at Houston so he is a project of the highest degree.

Not much stood out from Parish as Jacksonville continues to look for a way to get him involved, but training camp should give a better perspective on the rookie than a couple of OTA sessions.

Parish is working out with both Parmalee and the running backs and Angulo and the tight ends.

Coach's perspective: "He fits in well in the room. Obviously, he only played defense all until the East-West [Shrine] Game, so there's just a lot to learn. It is a lot for anybody to get to switch positions and learn all the ins and outs of things, so he's learning, he's getting better.

"He's a hard worker, which is going to help him with his learning curve, but we'll just see how big his role is and what he does for us as we get more into training camp, more in the preseason." - Angulo

"I do know one thing, the guy's got a lot of energy. He's strong as all get out. I mean, he was back there with us with the returners catching balls, so you could just tell that he has a mindset, he's just a tough, rugged guy that loves the game, loves to compete." - Parmalee

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars offensive assistants share thoughts on rookie draft class