Gardner Minshew on Jaguars’ TE Group: ‘I Think It Is a Deep Room’
There is little question that the Jacksonville Jaguars will want more production from the tight end position in 2020 than they got last year. For evidence, just look at the additions the team has made to the offense since the offseason began.
Former Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert joined the Jaguars as a free agent this offseason after seven years and 24 touchdown receptions with the Cincinnati Bengals. Sixth-round selection Tyler Davis was another high-upside addition to the position, and offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has utilized one of the most tight end-heavy offenses in the league in recent years.
Add in returning veteran tight end James O'Shaughnessy, who caught 14 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns before an ACL injury in Week 5 ended his season, and 2019 third-round pick Josh Oliver, and the Jaguars, at last, have some depth at the position.
It remains to be seen whether this particular group of tight ends can reverse the trend of past inefficiencies at the position, but the new-look position unit has at least impressed the team's starting quarterback thus far.
“I have been around several of these guys, I think that we got a lot of guys that can play, and that you know is a really good thing," Minshew said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
"We got Tyler Eifert that is coming in, we are very excited about him, big target, catches the ball well and has been really good in this league. James O’Shaughnessy who when he got hurt last year, me and him really connected well, he is playing really good ball, so whenever he gets back healthy, excited for him."
O'Shaugnessy led all Jaguars' tight ends in receptions, catches and touchdowns despite playing in fewer than five whole games. That is an indictment on the state of the Jaguars' tight end position last year, but it also shows just how well O'Shaughnessy and Minshew were clicking before he was injured. O'Shaughnessy is on the team's Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, but head coach Doug Marrone expressed optimism about his return to the field earlier this week.
"I’m happy with where James is. I would not be surprised … He has worked extremely hard. [I would not be surprised] if at some point during this period that we are in now [he comes off PUP]," Marrone said.
While Eifert and O'Shaughnessy are established veterans who have proven they can produce — though to varying degrees, — the Jaguars' two high-ceiling but unproven options at tight end are Oliver and Davis. Oliver is one of Jacksonville's most athletic players, as evidenced by MockDraftable's graphic of his NFL Scouting Combine athletic testing measurables.
Oliver will have to prove his mettle on the field, however. He appeared in just four games as a rookie in 2019 due to injuries, catching only three passes for 15 yards. As Minshew noted, he is essentially still a rookie because the team hasn't seen him truly perform on Sundays, but the hopes are still high.
"Then you go all the way down the line, Josh Oliver who is basically, you know a rookie again, he didn’t get as much work as we wanted him to get last year but he looks awesome, he is huge right now, moving really good," Minshew said.
Davis will likely have the fight for limited snaps, but he, Charles Jones and fellow rookie Ben Ellefson have all left impressions on Minshew as well, a positive sign for the outlook of each.
"Then you got the two rookies Tyler Davis and Ben Ellefson, both of them impressed with how much they know, they are good in everything that we have done so far. Charles Jones also is coming back, a guy that blocked really well for us last year, brings a lot to the table," Minshew said.
"I think it is a deep room, I think it is a room that everybody here is excited about.”
The Jaguars' tight end group has a number of risks involved, specifically when it comes to durability, but there is no denying the ceiling. If they are healthy, as they mostly are right now, they have the potential to continue to impress Minshew and many others.
