Meyer Is "Concerned" With Jaguars' Tight End Unit; Tim Tebow Still A Possibility
Urban Meyer is concerned.
The Jacksonville Jaguars tight end room has been a focus of repair since Meyer was hired as head coach in January. It was reportedly a focus during free agency, then again during the NFL Draft. The Jags came away with a tight end in both of those scenarios, Chris Manhertz and Luke Farrell. Both are blocking tight ends.
They join a room that includes two guys coming off their rookie season—Ben Ellefson and Tyler Davis—who caught a combined one reception. Along with veteran James O’Shaughnessy who has always been a part of the passing game, albeit in a small role and with three touchdowns in four seasons with the Jags. Tyler Eifert was not re-signed this offseason.
So yes, the offensive-minded Meyer—brought in to spark the lifeless Jaguars—is concerned with the current tight end room, admitting as such after the Jaguars concluded their portion of the 2021 NFL Draft.
“There’s some great quality [in the draft class]; quantity wasn’t there in the draft this year, and that’s a concern right now,” he told local media on Saturday afternoon, then stating again for good measure, “that’s a concern right now. That’s the one area that I feel like — we felt the same about defensive tackle — we just didn’t quite hit that and then we got Jay [Tufele], when we picked him. The tight end position — you’re staring at that board and that horizontal piece. We just didn’t hit that [in the draft.”
Added General Manager Trent Baalke, “we had some guys in line. You can’t control the board, the board kind of controls you at times. But we feel very good and fortunate to pick up Luke [Farrell] when we did. Again, filling that room is going to be an ongoing process, just like it is at every room.”
And while Meyer feels the Jaguars filled gaping holes in other positions, when it comes to the tight end unit, “there’s still work to be done at that spot.”
So what do they do?
For Farrell’s part, Meyer—who also coached him at Ohio State—believes he will be instant depth, but again, as a blocking tight end. There are options currently on the roster—in theory—but none that Meyer is comfortable putting into practice just yet. For example, turning second-year receiver Collin Johnson into a tight end.
“I actually thought of that, we’ve thought about that because athletic tight ends are so hard to find. That’s why they got paid so much money in free agency. Everybody’s looking for that guy. I just don’t think he’s got — some guys are, Laviska [Shenault] is a bigger, thicker guy — I don’t think he’s got that body type.”
Johnson is 6-6, 222 compared to Manhertz, who has a good 30 pounds on Johnson.
Someone who definitely has the frame, the connection with Meyer and the opportunity?
Tim Tebow.
The former Florida Gator National Championship winner under Meyer spent four years in the NFL before focusing on baseball. He retired from his baseball career—spent entirely in the minor league—earlier this spring. He famously worked out for the Jaguars tight end coach Tyler Bowen in recent months (the actual day has not been revealed).
The former coach and Heisman winner are now neighbors in Jacksonville and according to Meyer, the conversation arose about of curiosity and history having the same conversation years ago.
“Tim and I’ve talked about, when he was a quarterback in the NFL that was a big topic. I was so busy I didn’t give him the time. ‘What do you think? What do you think?’ and I didn’t know, I was too busy to even think it through,” Meyer recalled on Saturday.
“This is years ago. How did it happen this time? We had a conversation. He worked out with our tight ends coach, I stopped by, did not stay for the whole workout. Then our focus went to the NFL Draft. We’re going to revisit here in the near future. That’s how that all happened.”
Meyer has always had a connection with Tebow, one that has lasted to this day. With a bond like family members—as the two have described over the years—the question naturally arose, is Meyer offering the workout as a courtesy?
“I have one job and that is to win games with the Jacksonville Jaguars. If Tim Tebow or Travis Etienne can help us win, then that’s my job to get them ready to go play. That decision is certainly not made yet.”
The decision hasn’t been made on Tebow but some sort of decision on both the former quarterback and other prospects will have to be made eventually to fill the need at tight end. Baalke revealed the Jags won’t be bringing in workout guys this offseason, but will possibly bring in guys periodically, especially as teams begin to cut players to make room for recent draftees and undrafted free agents.
“Let’s catch our breath and then let’s look early next week on where are we going from here. What did we address? We didn’t we address? What do we still need to do with the roster,” posed Baalke.
“It’s ongoing with a lot of things to be honest with you, not just [tight end] but in general. We set out to make this roster as competitive as we possibly could and we’re going to continue to work on that up until camp, and once camp gets going, we’re going to take the next phase. We’re sitting in a sweet position moving forward having the first claiming order [on waiver wires] as we progress through the rest of the offseason and into the season, so we’re going to use that to our advantage.”
