Tight end Marcedes Lewis was a man on a mission when he arrived in training camp.

"One of my goals was to have the best camp I've ever had in my life. Period," he said.

When the Jaguars bring down the curtain on training camp today, Lewis has not only appeared to reach that goal, he might have had the best camp of any Jaguar.

Entering his fifth NFL season, Lewis, 26, is getting rave reviews from the coaches and seems on the verge of establishing himself as one of the best tight ends in the league.

Coach Jack Del Rio said Lewis has been as dominant as any player in camp.

"He is a complete tight end," Del Rio said. "He is as good a blocking tight end as there is out there."

As long as David Garrard performs at mediocre level, Lewis will be no higher than a #2 TE in mandatory TE leagues.

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio opened up about a player who had been impressing him during training camp.

"I think in the first week of camp I think the most dominant player on our football team in the first week has been Marcedes Lewis," Del Rio said Friday night. "He's been absolutely sensational - blocking, catching, leading, sending the right message with his actions along with the things he's saying and standing up for, so really proud of the start of the year he's had."

No fantasy owners should accept advice from Jack Del Rio on how to run their teams. Lewis has never been much of a fantasy player, and it would be a major shock if he had a breakout campaign.

Players who looked good in Jaguars OTAs:

QB David Garrard: Coming off a subpar year, he was consistent and clearly took a step up. He helped his cause with better rhythm and timing.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew: Had a solid camp and looks like he'll pick up where he left off last season as a Pro Bowl running back.

RB Rashad Jennings: Might have the best hands on the team and could be a weapon on passing downs and a good backup to Jones-Drew.

RB Deji Karim: Like Jennings, showed good hands coming out of the backfield and could add a dimension to the offense when he's split out and on screen passes.

TE Marcedes Lewis: Had his best OTA session so far. Quickness and route-running improved.

WR Jarett Dillard: Was the most impressive receiver in the OTAs. Displayed good route running and hands, was outstanding from the slot position.

WR Tiquan Underwood: Was the team's most improved receiver. Now he has to show he can do it in pads.

Jaguars WR Torry Holt (hand out) missed practice again Friday and has been ruled out for week 17. Mike Thomas will likely get the start opposite Mike Sims-walker. TE Marcedes Lewis (cheek, head out) has also been ruled out.

The Jaguars need a victory over the Browns, not to mention lots of help, to make the playoffs. And they must do it without two of their best pass catchers and their top cover man.

The Jaguars ruled WR Torry Holt (hand), TE Marcedes Lewis (cheek, head) and CB Rashean Mathis (groin) out of Sunday’s game in Cleveland. All three starters didn’t practice this week.

Holt (a career-low 51 catches for 722 yards) and Lewis (32 for 518 yards) ranked third and fifth, respectively, on the team in receptions. Mathis has dealt with the groin injury for most of the season and missed five games, but he’s still tied for the team lead with three interceptions.

Atiyyah Ellison (knee), John Henderson (shoulder), Torry Holt (hand), Marcedes Lewis (head) and Rashean Mathis (groin) did not practice for the Jaguars.

Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis has declared himself out of Sunday's game. Says it will take 1-2 weeks for his face to heal

Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis (cheek, head) did not practice Wednesday.

Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis was hit and suffered a concussion on the play near the end of the first half.

Besides Lewis’ concussion, defensive lineman Atiyyah Ellison suffered a knee injury and left the locker room on crutches, and wide receiver Torry Holt suffered a right finger injury and had his hand wrapped in splint. Cornerback Rashean Mathis sat out the second half when the groin injury that has been bothering him tightened up.

After some self-analysis coming out of last season, the Jaguars pointed out a need to find ways to put the ball into the hands of their playmakers more often.

So the team tinkered with formations and plays and experimented with elements of the spread offense during practice sessions at minicamp and organized team activities. That experimentation continues at camp as the team looks for creative ways to get the ball to RBs Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings, TE Marcedes Lewis and FB Greg Jones.

"We did a lot of experimenting in the OTAs," Jaguars HC Del Rio said. "We've kind of sharpened the focus a little bit. So we'll still maybe weed through some things and then settle on what we believe is going to be best for the guys we have."

On some plays, the Jaguars split Jones-Drew or Jennings out at receiver.

On others, Lewis lined up as an H-back.

"He's one of the premier playmakers in the league," Del Rio said of Jones-Drew. "So we'll do different things to get him involved. We've been talking about wanting Marcedes Lewis to be more involved. That's what camp is all about - building that trust, taking some of that design and doing something well when you get the opportunity, and then coaches say, 'Hey, let's do more of that.' "