JACKSONVILLE – A.J. Bouye kept it simple and basic.
He did this during his first 2017 organized team activities practice with the Jaguars Thursday, and the veteran cornerback emphasized as much while speaking with the media a few minutes later.
Bouye, who signed with the Jaguars in March as one of the NFL's highest-profile '17 unrestricted free agents, missed the first four OTA practices with an undisclosed injury.
His goal now for the OTAs? Simple and basic.
"Just seeing if you still have the same technique," Bouye, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Houston Texans, told media early Thursday afternoon.
"Getting new calls in, just seeing where your health is going to be … I think most of all it's fundamentals and making sure your feet are right and everything. That's one thing I was focusing on today."
He said he felt healthy in his return Thursday.
"I feel great," Bouye said. "Like I said, it's just making sure my feet are right and I felt like – for the most part – it was really good and I was on top of all the routes. I'm going to watch it on film and see what I have to work on."
Bouye on Thursday discussed playing opposite rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and discussed the expectations starting to surround the duo. Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, now with NFL.com, this week called the pair the NFL's best cornerback tandem entering the 2017 season.
"Just shows that we're getting respect from former DBs, but we know what we're up against," Bouye said. "We can't really focus on things like that. All we can do is focus on how we make plays to help our team. They have great tandems everywhere."
Bouye said he, Ramsey and the rest of the secondary have developed good chemistry "on and off the field," and said he and Ramsey work closely together during and after practice.
"We just stay in each other's ears if we see anything," Bouye said. "I am able to sometimes watch the reps even when I'm on the field – like today, I saw some stuff and I'll talk to him about it. I'm just staying on him like he's going to hold me accountable."
Bouye also said he has emphasized to Ramsey, the No. 5 overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, "that there's no reason why you shouldn't be an All-Pro corner this year.
"Just take advantage of every rep – just learn from it and just keep getting better," Bouye said he has told Ramsey. "That's one thing that he's doing, even on the field and in film room."
Bouye said the process of fitting in and developing chemistry with his new teammates is ongoing, and that it continues to go well.
"We talk so much football even when we're not on the field, in film, even in the locker room," he said. "I'm even talking to the younger guys out there today, even stuff that helped me to transition to a better corner – just implementing everything in their game and just trying to learn something from everybody too."
Bouye, asked toward the end of his media session Thursday what he wants to get out of the next two weeks of OTAs and minicamp, replied simply: "Turnovers." Increasing takeaways is a major objective for a Jaguars defense that has struggled in the area in recent seasons. Bouye said the defense forced none Thursday, but had several opportunities.
"We dropped some," he said. "I don't think I even got a pass towards me, but I felt good on most of my footwork and breaks. They're going to come. I know they were taking our time with it, but we definitely could have capitalized on some. Just to see those guys breaking on everything and looking very comfortable, that's something you want to see."
