Progress report: What Jaguars defensive 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 next, we take a look at the team's defensive rookies. With seven selections on the defensive side of the football, the Jaguars will be depending on the majority of the players for depth purposes and to eventually take the next step in helping their team.

Click here to take a look at the team's six offensive rookies and what their respective positions coaches had to say about their progress thus far during the team's offseason program.

LB Ventrell Miller, Round 4, pick No. 121

Observations: Miller, 6-foot, 221 pounds, hasn't participated very much during the team's offseason program due to having foot surgery earlier this year to repair a Jones fracture. He has done work primarily on the side. Still, the rookie will enter a stacked inside LB room led by Foye Oluokun, Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma.

He will have to compete with one of the best special teams players on the team in Caleb Johnson along with Shaq Quarterman, who has been one of the better special teamers on the team as well.

Coach's perspective: "He's picking [the playbook] up well, but think about it, because I dealt with it last year with Devin [Lloyd] and Chad [Muma], everything changes when something moves and for him, it's hard because he's not able to get those adjustments because he's not getting any reps.

"But, I think for the classroom, he's taking it seriously he asks a lot of questions. So, it's just gonna be a matter of when he gets his opportunity, you got a real competitor, just making his reps count." - inside linebackers coach Tony Gilbert

DL Tyler Lacy, Round 4, Pick No. 130

Observations: Lacy, 6-foot-4, 285 pounds, has participated in practice as an end or on the inside in the team's 3-4 defensive scheme. Without pads, there isn't much to glean from practices similar to offensive linemen. Still, Lacy looks big and still has plenty of room to grow in that department as he continues to mold his body.

Though he is listed at 285 pounds, Lacy is currently 288 pounds, according to defensive line coach Brentson Buckner. Buckner expects Lacy to be around 290 pounds by the start of the season.

Coach's perspective: "I think Tyler lacy is a unique body type guy. He's a big body, 4-3 defensive end who's got the body enough to play 3-4 interior and rush on the inside. I think he's long, he has some power, he has some unique quickness about himself. I think going forward, without any hiccups, I think he can become a player for us.

"He doesn't have to have a major role because we're blessed to have Roy [Robertson-Harris] and those guys, but I think I think Lacy could come in and give us some quality reps, whether it be big end on first and second down [and] nickel or inside as a 3-4 defensive tackle defensive end, or even interior pass rush, because he has the length." - Buckner

OLB Yasir Abdullah, Round 5, Pick No. 136

Observations: Abdullah, 6-foot-1, 234 pounds, might be shorter than a typical outside linebacker, but he is not small. A stout pass rusher out of Louisville, Abdullah has looked plenty quick during team drills, rushing the passer. He packs a punch in drills and is expected to make some sort of impact in year one.

Coach's perspective: "He's a little bit shorter than most of the guys at that position, so that is what it is. He has a great burst and he has a great band. What you don't really get to see in the offseason very much is the power, but when I watched his tape, you see a powerful guy. To your point, he's stout. He's a little shorter, but he's a stout-built guy and so he does have a little bit of shock to his hands and some power in his rush." - outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey

S Antonio Johnson, Round 5, Pick No. 160

Observations: Johnson, 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, is one of the longest defensive backs on the team. His lanky frame looks like that of a tall old-school Seattle Seahawks cornerback, but he is fluid enough to move inside as a nickel. The Jaguars have played Johnson at safety throughout his time, but he will have plenty of opportunity to change positions throughout his career as a versatile piece in the defense.

Coach's perspective: "Yeah. I mean, you see a [six-foot-three] guy with a nice, long frame that can run and he's got loose hips, fluid hips, he can cover man-to-man. He's got good feel zones and he'll hit you. I mean, there's not really many negatives about him." - Safeties coach Cody Grimm

CB Christian Braswell, Round 6, Pick No. 202

Observations: Braswell, 5-foot-10, 181 pounds, will go through his rookie lumps as all of the rookies will. Still, he looks ordinary on the practice field, and that's a good thing. The Jaguars will continue to ease him in, but without much one-on-one work and team drills during the media availability portions of the offseason, it's hard to say how good his coverage ability is.

Still, he has had a couple of pass breakouts during the times we can see him out there, which is encouraging.

Coach's perspective: "You saw him play outside the corner, you saw him play inside. You saw some toughness and some quickness out of him and then when you talk to him during the interview process, he was going to be a pro, he was sharp. He was serious about ball [and] the questions were good. You understand he has the opportunity to be a really good player." - Defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend

CB Erick Hallett II, Round 6, Pick No. 208

Observations: Hallett, 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, falls into a similar category as Braswell, but has looked noticeably quick and likely has an edge within the slot due to his versatile nature. He has a quickness to play inside and has looked sharp in doing so. Hallett could eventually vie for playing time down the road.

Coach's perspective: "You saw him play safety, you saw him play corner and you saw him play inside at the nickel position. So he showed the capability of being a versatile player and we need that. We need guys that can play multiple positions and are smart enough to go on the field and help you in any kind of way." - Townsend

DT Raymond Vohasek, Round 7, Pick No. 227

Observations: Vohasek, 6-foot-2, 311 pounds, hasn't participated much, still recovering from injury. He is short, but stoud and will likely work as a nose tackle after he is fully recovered. For depth purposes, Vohasek appears intriguing as a player that could come in behind Foley Fatukasi if he were to make the team this year.

Coach's perspective: "He's a unique guy because he's small. He has some foot quickness. We haven't got a chance to see him do much because of the injury he had coming out of college, but I'm excited to see [him]. He works hard, he's really very smart, he can recall stuff, he's very intuitive, and just watching the footwork, you see that. Now I want to see how to translate to the field because he has a smaller lineman." - Buckner

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 defensive assistants share thoughts on rookie draft class