Jaguars Still Set To Lean on Christian Kirk, Who Doug Pederson Says ‘Was Our No. 1 Target’ in FA

The free-agent addition at wide receiver was the Jaguars' best offensive player over the first three weeks, meaning there is no question his focus in the offense will return.

For a still-growing and adjusting Jacksonville Jaguars' offense, there is no question which player needs to be the most involved for the passing game to get off the ground: wide receiver Christian Kirk. 

Kirk's absence of targets in Week 5 highlighted a game the Jaguars wish they could have back. In a 13-6 home loss to Houston where the Jaguars totaled over 400 yards of offense but went 0-for-3 in the red-zone and failed on far too many key downs, Kirk was looked at just three times in 47 pass attempts. 

Kirk, who the Jaguars signed to a four-year, $72 million deal with $37 million guaranteed this March, averaged nine targets per game over the first month of the season and was never targeted fewer than six times in any of the first four games. 

But last Sunday was different. And when listening to the Jaguars' staff talk about his lack of involvement since Sunday, it has become clear they are committed to leaning on Kirk and not letting the lack of targets repeat itself. 

"Yeah, that was completely on us as a coaching staff. We got to be able to target him, he’s one of our better guys, clearly. As the game went, we weren’t really able to force them out of Cover-2," Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said on Thursday. 

"We didn’t make them honor one thing well enough, we weren’t good enough in the pass game, weren’t efficient enough in the run game to force them to play something different. They were able to stay in what we want, and we feel good about the things that we had, we just didn’t execute them to the best of our ability. There are ways to incorporate him that we certainly need to do. He’s a guy that needs to touch the football and have an impact on the game for us.”

In short, the Jaguars know it is their fault the ball didn't go to Kirk more in last Sunday's loss. It wasn't due to a lack of execution on Kirk's part, but more so on the Jaguars' offensive plan and overall production, which allowed the Texans to continue to show the same look down after down.

Plus, the surprise factor has worn off on Kirk in the Jaguars' offense. The first few games of the season give every team a chance to show off ways they use their new weapons that other teams aren't prepared for, but teams have enough tape on the Jaguars' offense to know Kirk is a focal point.

"There’s a fine line because we have a lot of really good players that can help us. Kind of spreading the wealth," Trevor Lawrence said on Wednesday. "One, it helps everyone. Everyone is a part of the game plan, but also it keeps the defense on their heels because you have so many different weapons and different ways to attack certain parts of the defense, so it’s important for a lot of different reasons, but obviously Christian is a great player. We’ve got to get him the ball. 

"You’ve seen how productive he can be and how much he helps us when he gets a lot of touches, so obviously, that’s important. Any great player you have, you’ve got to find a way to get them the ball. That’s an every week thing. He’s no secret. People have seen what he can do. It’s not going to sneak up on anybody, but for us, it’s just put him in situations to succeed and be open to get touches and all that.”

The Jaguars know Kirk is their top target. So do opposing defenses. Now, it will be up to them to continue to treat Kirk as so, leaning on a player they invested heavily in this offseason and who Doug Pederson said on Friday was their top target overall this past March.

"I think to all the offensive coaches, I can probably speak for all of them, he was our number one target that we wanted to get in free agency, and we were able to get him," Pederson said.

“We did a lot of research when he was coming out of college first. It kind of starts there. We’d do a lot of film study, his play in Arizona and things he had done there, but quite honestly, one of the biggest things that I was looking for, just me personally, was high character guys--guys that were going to fit and help change the culture here in Jacksonville, and he was one of those guys."

"Then when you get him here and you see exactly who he is and what he’s about, how he works, and how he spends time doing little things and extra things, and how he studies the game, it’s just confirmation that our efforts looking at him have paid off in that regard.”