The State of the Jaguars Wide Receiver Room

Can the Jaguar receivers replicate their production growth from 2019? Jacksonville's future may depend on it happening.

With one of the more intriguing sophomore quarterbacks in the league in Gardner Minshew II, it would stand to reason the Jacksonville Jaguars are planning on surrounding him with an arsenal at wide receiver.

If ever there was a year to do it, it would be 2020, when receivers were plentiful and abundant in the NFL Draft. The Jaguars and general manager Dave Caldwell went defense with their first two picks—both in the first round—before nabbing a receiver in the second round, No. 42 overall.

Laviska Shenault from University of Colorado is arguably just as intriguing as Minshew was coming out of college. Neither were media darlings with the intangible makers of a superstar in their position. But both refused to be ignored, scrapping their way into the national conversation and earning a nod. The Jags of course got a deal with Minshew, taking him in the 6th round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the plan to let him sit and grow, before he was thrust into a starting role and going 6-6. Shenault was taken much quicker, going on Day Two during the run on wide receivers.

Following the draft, Head Coach Doug Marrone revealed they had been tracking Shenault for two years and had big plans for the versatile receiver.

“I talked to him. Obviously, we feel he has the size and the speed to play outside. After we had drafted him and I got on the phone with him, both [Offensive Coordinator] Jay [Gruden] and I had a plan. We talked about how we’re going to do it and how we’re going to use him. I told him, I said, ‘Look, we have some plans,’ and you can put him in the backfield, he can play Wildcat, you can put him as the F-tight end, you can do a lot of things with him. You see it on his tape in 2018 and 2019.

“That’s one of the things that we looked at; we went back there, and I said, ‘Look, we can do all those things, but the whole key is going to be how well you grasp it, how well you pick it up.’ Because if he can, make no mistake about it, we want to be able to do those things.”

Shenault played all three positions in college but will most likely be utilized outside, a supplement to Chris Conley. After spending four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Conley had his most productive year yet in Jacksonville in 2019. He averaged 48.44 yards per game, second on the team, and 16.5 per reception, first on the team. Conley’s speed and uptick in production mean he should stay in the starting role. Shenault’s ability and potential as a downfield threat make him a solid option now behind Conley.

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The Jags leading receiver in 2019, D.J. Chark, will be on the opposite side and has the potential to become the face of the Jaguars offense this season. His production from his rookie season to his sophomore season jumped from 174 yards to 1,008 (27th in the league). That’s a 579% increase for those keeping tally at home. 

His eight touchdowns accounted for a third of the Jags scores through the air, thanks in large part to the separation he gets from corners downfield. Chark’s stats aren’t eye-popping relative to the rest of the league and last years good enough won’t be good enough if Jacksonville plans on taking a step forward this season. But if his increase in production in 2019 is any indication, this coming fall will see even more growth. The addition of Jay Gruden should also help Chark in particular.

“I played in a West Coast offense my first three years of college, so I’m excited,” said Chark to John Reid of The Florida Times-Union in late January. “It allows you to stretch the field a lot. I’m just ready to see what he can bring to the team. I’m ready to work with him.”

If used in the same way as he was in college, the Jaguars fifth-round pick Collin Johnson out of Texas should see time behind Chark. While with the Longhorns, Johnson evolved into a four-year wide receiver. It’s his height that will make him interesting to watch downfield and even over the middle. He stands at 6-foot-6 and while he argues that his game is more than his frame, his vertical threat ability was still too good to pass up, explains head coach Doug Marrone.

“He's a guy that's 6’6”, 222 pounds, he can run real well, just a different element. Now when you look across the board we have different types and it's always good to have that and obviously we are looking for him to come in here and perform. He has an opportunity to win a job, has an opportunity to be a good playmaker when you look at his catch radius and where he’s at. I was excited that we were able to get him as late as we did.”

With Chark and Conley foreseeably handling duties in the X and Z roles, Dede Westbrook should return as the slot receiver where he can also be used as a sweep rusher, with Keelan Cole providing depth behind him. Westbrook averaged 41.3 yards per game through the air in 2019 and is entering a pivotal contract year. 

The Jaguars passing game production increased by an average of 41 yards per game from 2018 to 2019. For a similar increase to happen in 2020, each piece of the receiver corps must build on how they grew in 2019. 

But the biggest piece of the puzzle might just be Minshew. If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks and now the Jaguars can prepare for the 2020 season knowing that one guy is in charge. Offseason workouts, throwing sessions and preparation can all be done knowing whose team this is, which is the best curator of chemistry.