What are Jacksonville Jaguars Coaches + Players Saying About T.J. Yeldon?

T.J. Yeldon became the latest Alabama running back to get drafted when he was taken 36th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in May. 

The organization made the pick with hopes of turning around a running game that failed to produce a rusher over 600 yards in 2014. Yeldon has an immediate opportunity to take over the starting spot ahead of Denard Robinson and Toby Gerhart and could be an impact player for the Jags from game one.

So now that mincamps and OTAs are complete, what are members of the Jaguars saying about the former Crimson Tide standout?

Head coach Gus Bradley singled out Yeldon a number of times after workouts. When asked which rookies stood out, Bradley named his 2nd round pick first.

"Yeah, Yeldon did again," Bradley said. "He did a nice job on some of the runs that he had. I thought to come out the second day like this the intensity slows up.

First-year offensive coordinator Greg Olson is tasked with turning around a unit that finished 31st overall last year and it appears Yeldon factors in heavily to his gameplan.

“He was a playmaker and he played big in big games," Olson said of Yeldon. "He’s a very knowledgeable, intelligent player at the running back position and Alabama runs a Pro-Style offense and we were able to see him do things protection-wise and route running-wise and blocking [-wise] that will translate to this level of football. … [Playing every down] would be asking a lot of any player. I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s another real self-starter and hard worker.”

The Jaguars' starting middle linebacker, Paul Posluszny, has faced Yeldon in team workouts and came away impressed.

"He looks really good in short-area change of direction," Jaguars middle linebacker Paul Posluszny said. "He looks really, really good there. It's, 'How does a guy move in space? How athletic is he?' That's what stands out. With him, he definitely has it."

With two months until the preseason begins, Yeldon should only improve his understanding of the offense and could compete with former teammate Amari Cooper for rookie offensive honors in the AFC.