Each day for the next two weeks we’ll review how each position group performed in 2014 for the Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as taking an early look at 2015. Today we’ll examine the wide receivers. On Friday we’ll do the offensive line.
Wide receiver
Breakdown of starts: Cecil Shorts (12), Allen Hurns (8), Marqise Lee (8), Allen Robinson (8), Mike Brown (1).
Recap: There wasn’t a whole lot of experience on the field at this position in 2014, and it certainly showed in the production in the passing game. The Jaguars averaged 187.6 yards per game, which was the fifth-lowest total in franchise history. Having a rookie quarterback start 13 games was obviously a huge factor, but so was the fact that Hurns, Lee, and Robinson were rookies, and Shorts was the only receiver that began the season with more than 32 career catches. It would have been logical for quarterback Blake Bortles to rely on Shorts since he was the most experienced pass-catcher, but that was not the case. Robinson and Hurns were the top receivers early in the season while Shorts battled a hamstring issue (he missed three games with the injury) and Lee came on late in the season. Shorts did end up leading the Jaguars in receptions (53), but he had a critical fumble in the first meeting with Tennessee, and two bad drops in the first meeting with Houston. The Jaguars didn’t get much from second-year player Ace Sanders, either. He caught 51 passes as a rookie in 2013, but was suspended for the first four games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and caught just six passes in 2014. The Jaguars also had hoped to get some help from veteran Tandon Doss, but he missed the entire season with an ankle injury.
Looking ahead to 2015
Players under contract: Justin Blackmon, Damian Copeland, Doss, Hurns, Lee, Robinson, Sanders, Tommy Streeter.
The skinny: Yes, Blackmon is under contract. No, there is no guarantee he will be reinstated by the NFL for the 2015 season. In fact, GM David Caldwell said the team is planning on not having Blackmon available, and will treat the possibility of him playing as a luxury. Copeland and Streeter are young players who will be fighting for roster spots. Sanders likely will be doing the same thing, because he gave the team very little production as a punt returner (7.1 per-return average) and Doss led the AFC in punt return average with Baltimore in 2013. Even though the rookie trio will have to learn a new offense for the second year in a row, the expectation is they will continue to develop and form the core of the passing game for the next several years. Expect the Jaguars to add a veteran receiver in free agency.
