'It will be surprising' if Jaguars RB T.J. Yeldon isn't the starter by Week 1

The Jaguars left for summer vacation pleased with RB T.J. Yeldon.

“The impressive thing about T.J. is that he picked up the offense quickly,” RB coach Kelly Skipper said. “For the most part, when he gets something, he has it [down] and we can move onto the next thing.”

Said coach Gus Bradley: “He’s all football. This kid is internally driven. Every rep he gets, he’s going to take advantage of. I really like him.”

Yeldon has the tools — runner, receiver, pass protector — to be a three-down back. But how soon?

“That’s what we have to find out and find out fast,” Skipper said.

It will be surprising if Yeldon isn’t the tailback for Play 1 in Week 1 — the Jaguars drafted him No. 36 overall to be The Guy. But what kind of work load he gets is unclear.

Yeldon should see plenty of touches, but the Jaguars' offense has been poor for some time, so he may not see the same number of scoring opportunities as some of the other running backs being drafted in the middle rounds. Denard Robinson had a very nice stretch for four weeks, but otherwise the Jacksonville running backs weren't much of a fantasy factor in 2014. The team did make an effort to improve the offensive line via free agency and the draft, so Yeldon has top 20 potential provided QB Blake Bortles shows progress from his disappointing rookie season.