Jacksonville, Fla. — For Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Balke and coach Doug Pedersen it didn't take much deep thought or evaluation to make recreating the wide receiver room one of the team's top priorities this off-season.
The Jaguars lead the NFL with 39 drops, including a league-high 21 by only wide receivers. And the group was hurt by injuries and the lack of a stable lineup; They were tied for the league lead with 10 receivers being targeted at least once, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It made things very difficult for rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and that had to change if he and the offense were going to improve in 2022.
"Given where we are currently, where we are, this was an area we wanted to address," Pedersen said. "The receiver was at the top of the list for us."
The addition of Christian Kirk and Ze Jones definitely upgraded the WR Room. Kirk is coming to a career high in reception (77) and receiving yards (982) with the Arizona Cardinals and can play slots as well as outside. Jones had 47 catches for 546 yards last season for the Las Vegas Raiders, and he can also play slots and outs, giving the Jaguars a chance to move those around, creating some mismatches. which they hope to take advantage of.
The same goes for Marvin Jones Jr., who took the second most catches of his career (73) for 832 yards with the Jaguars last season. He was Lawrence's most reliable target and the only Jaguars player to record a catch in every game.
Kirk, Marvin Jones Jr. and Zay Jones may not be an elite trio, but it's a lot better than the Jaguars last season. The team also brought back Lacon Treadwell, who led the team in receiving yards (405) and was tied with Jones Jr. for the team lead in catches (31) in the final seven weeks of the 2021 season.
The team did not bring back DJ Chark Jr. (signed with the Detroit Lions), but if Jamal Agnew returns from a hip injury that cost him the final seven games of the previous season, the Jaguars added another receiver to the draft. , then Lawrence should have made a substantial jump from 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions last season.
"I think we have helped the team," Pedersen said. "Trevor is a big part of the team and the quarterback position, but it's something you have to watch out for. You have to be honest with yourself, right? You know, when you have the quarterback element, what happens around that? Is? ... the skill position is obviously a big component of this and it felt like we did really well at reinforcing some of the pieces around him."
However, there is one player who is not benefiting from the influx of new players: Lavisca Schenault Jr.
Schenault was placed second in the NFL with eight drops and some issues running the wrong route, even late in the season. Treadwell, on the other hand, was more dominant in the second half of the season. It is possible that Schenault could go on to fight for a roster spot in training camp by being the team's second-round pick in 2020, although Balke said in conjunction that they are still "high on Lavisca".
As far as the receiver's pecking order, which will run during camp and preseason, Pedersen said it doesn't really matter.
"You now have a [wide receiver] room that anyone can get a warm hand in in any given week," Pedersen said. "And it all goes back to the game planning of how we want to use these guys. There's only one football. I wish I had five footballs, and they all caught passes at once, but you can't." And I think as the season progresses, you'll see that maybe someone will be -- well, your [number 1] is your guy, right?
"But, it's really hard to put just one number on it when anyone can make those plays in any given week."
If it does, Lawrence - and Jaguar - should be clearly better off in 2022.