Milum, after dealing an injury early in training camp, appeared in 10 games as a rookie in an elevated depth role along the offensive line as he bided his time. This offseason presented him his first real professional chance to get healthy and reset after a whirlwind rookie year that saw him immediately hit the practice field after a lengthy draft process.
“It was big, especially, with the injury last year I had,” he said. “This offseason, I went home for a few weeks, came back, and got my body 100 percent healthy and got in the weight room.”
A big part of his rookie development was within the playbook, a system to which he is returning in 2026 as the Jaguars retained their entire offensive staff.
“Especially just for me in general, just knowing the playbook, when you came back, it’s so much easier and just makes you so much more comfortable out there playing, so you can just play free,” Milum said. “The biggest thing I learned was I had to get in the playbook when I was injured because I knew I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t get out here, so I just had to get in the playbook.”
Milum not only did that, he got in the ear of the veteran offensive linemen on the roster. Whether at guard or tackle, he had several veterans to watch and learn from as a rookie with Patrick Mekari, Ezra Cleveland, Cole Van Lanen, Walker Little and others.
“Whenever you have a question, they’re willing to help you,” he said. “You just have to ask, and they will help you out, but just be able to sit back and watch them, because everybody does something different.
“If you just pick something different from everybody that you watch, that can help you with your game. I like to sit back and just watch them like with film. Or when we’re out here in practice doing indie, I like to sit and just watch them, how they do that one step, or how they do this pass pro. It’s just awesome to sit and have teammates like that who you can watch.”
Milum’s role in his second season is to be determined. But he has spent each moment since being drafted preparing for it, taking reps at both tackle and guard to ensure he can do whatever is needed.
“It’s a good thing just to be able to help the team,” he said. “It’s huge just to be able to go in and help the team, and not take a step back. You just get up there and go.”
Source: www.jaguars.com
