Jacksonville Jaguars Training Camp: Week 1 Stock Report

It's been nearly two weeks since the Jacksonville Jaguars started training camp, and there's been plenty to follow. It's great to finally see the team take the practice field together and start to answer the questions that will be coming up this season.

The Jaguars are working as a team to prepare for the 2015 season, but there are individual performances to evaluate. It's time to determine the stock of the first week or so of training camp.

Some players have stood out and have started convincing the team and the fans that they are either improving or can offer something not previously seen before. Considering the Jaguars' struggles over the past couple of years, it's fair to say they need all the improvement they can get.

Training camp is the beginning of the preseason tuneup to the regular season, and now that it's finally underway and producing results, the Jaguars couldn't be happier. 

Toby Gerhart Is on the Up

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When Jaguars fans think of running back Toby Gerhart, they don't exactly get excited. He seemed out of sorts last season in Jacksonville, and he never properly showed the solid running we saw in Minnesota when he was backing up Adrian Peterson.

However, he's doing his best to make up for it with a promising offseason, according to Jaguars.com's John Oehser. Gerhart told Oehser that he's "real excited" to be a part of new offensive coordinator Greg Olson's offense.

Gerhart also drew praise from general manager Dave Caldwell, who said, “He looks even quicker and faster than he did last year. I think he’s going to help us a lot this year." That's a nice individual shoutout from the GM.

Gerhart needs to keep building off his optimism and praise and keep working up the RB totem pole. His improved performance is exciting to see, but he still has convincing to do before anyone will fully put his faith in him.

With fellow RBs T.J. Yeldon and Denard Robinson sharing the majority of the carries with Gerhart, having a wide array of options is now turning out to be a legit option. Hopefully, all three will hit their stride once the 2015 season starts.

Marqise Lee Injury Causes a Drop in Stock

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Poor, poor Marqise Lee. What did he or the Jaguars do to deserve such nagging injury issues? Lee suffered a hamstring injury this week, continuing the trend of an injured offseason, which doesn't typically precede a productive regular season for any kind of player.

According to Jaguars.com, the extent of the injury isn't known, but that's not much help to the pessimistic or optimistic side of the situations. Obviously, one wants to be hopeful, but it's hard to be with Lee's history. 

Lee didn't practice today, the following Thursday, and it doesn't seem likely he'll practice anytime in the immediate future. A slight hamstring tweak isn't anything to panic about, but it doesn't help Lee right now.

The Jaguars organization has faith in Lee, and it should. He offers loads of potential and talent, and all he has to do is stay healthy to develop it. It seems if he could just go a season without injury, his production, even as a young player, would be impressive.

What this really means in the near future is that fellow WR Allen Hurns is continuing to break away in the battle for the No. 2 receiver spot. Hurns had a fantastic rookie year, and it appeared that he would have to compete with Lee for the No. 2 position, but that battle seems a little less competitive with the latest injury news.

Aaron Colvin Delivering on Hype in Training Camp So Far

John Raoux/Associated Press

Corner Aaron Colvin is one of the Jaguars' youngest and brightest, and since his return from a bad ACL tear before he started his NFL career, he's been nothing but exciting. With training camp underway, Colvin has made it apparent he has no plans to stop.

According to Jaguars.com, Colvin is continuing to stand out this offseason, most notably through two interceptions, one of which was returned for a pick six. It may be in training camp, but those kinds of plays are encouraging all the same. 

As has been the case with a lot of the staff, Colvin has continued to draw praise. Defensive coordinator Bob Babich offered the latest praise: "There’s not a lot of guys who can do it [play inside and outside], so that tells you how talented he is. When I talk about talent, I’m not just talking about his athleticism and his playmaking ability. You’ve got to be able to switch from playing outside to inside."

There's no doubt that Colvin has the talent to be a fantastic corner in the near future, but his versatility is what puts him over the top. If he can be a "plug-and-play" corner this year, he could be one of the most important players of the Jaguars.

The Jaguars are sitting pretty when it comes to young Colvin. Taking the risk on a first-round talent who dropped to the fourth round is looking like a successful gamble, and they'll look to reap the rewards this season.

Blake Bortles Is Somewhat Incosistent, No Change in Stock

John Raoux/Associated Press

Quarterback Blake Bortles has had an overall positive offseason thus far, but his past few days have been a little inconsistent. Wednesday's spectacular performance, as reported by Jaguars.com's Oehser, was quickly followed by a somewhat poor performance Thursday, as reported by FCN's Mike Kaye.

Oehser went as far as to say that Bortles' Wednesday performance could be his best in a Jaguars uniform and then brought up the fact that his previous few performances were everywhere from solid to very good.

However, while Bortles has had a solid level of play, his relatively disappointing performance on Thursday doesn't help paint a clear image of Bortles at the moment. As Kaye reported, Bortles did do well in the end zone, throwing two touchdowns.

The best thing to take away from Bortles' first week or so of practice is that his base level has risen, but he's not quite there in terms of consistency. He's still got a lot to improve on, and that's OK.

No one expects Bortles to transform into a star overnight, and it's fair to expect some inconsistency at this point. However, his base level of play is rising all the same, and that means Thursday's performance isn't anything to worry about.

Nick Marshall a Surprising Standout at Corner

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When Nick Marshall announced that he was planning to take on the next stage of his career as a corner rather than a quarterback, many were unsure. Most transitions like this don't work out, but Marshall is trying to break that tradition.

According to Jaguars.com, Marshall drew praise from both Babich and head coach Gus Bradley. Both are excited for his potential, and his future with the Jaguars now looks a lot more promising with the recent praise and performances.

Babich said, "We’re really pleased with Nick’s transition. He’s very, very athletic and very, very instinctive. He’s just young, and when I say young…young at the position. He has playmaking skills. One thing he can do is he lets his instincts at the point of attack take over, and I think that really helps him.”

It understandably comes as a surprise for someone such as Marshall to have seemingly natural instincts and an ability to pick up the position as quickly as he has. However, he's doing it all the same, and the battle for the various corner spots is getting more interesting.

Marshall isn't on the final roster yet, but it's a real possibility with his string of performances and positive comments received from the coaches. If he continues on this track, it'll be hard to cut him once they begin later this year.

All stats were provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.

Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter @evanreier.