Each day for the next two weeks we’ll review how each position group performed in 2015 as well as taking an early look at 2016. Wednesday we’ll examine the tight end. We’ve already done quarterback and running back.
Tight end
Breakdown of starts: Marcedes Lewis (16), Julius Thomas (10), Clay Harbor (3), Nic Jacobs (1).
Recap: Thomas missed the first four games with a fractured hand and it took him a while to get going, but he finished with 46 catches for 455 yards and five touchdowns. That was the second-highest reception total of his career. Lewis (16 catches) wasn’t a priority in the pass game because of the addition of Thomas, but he was healthy and played in all 16 games for the first time since 2012 and coach Gus Bradley praised his blocking. Harbor (14 catches) lined up as a fullback in some packages and did a solid job as a blocker. All four tight ends combined to catch 77 passes, which is better production from the position than the Jaguars got the past two seasons. The tight ends combined to catch 55 passes in 2013 and just 47 in 2014.
Looking ahead to 2016
Players under contract: Thomas, Jacobs, Ben Koyack.
The skinny: The Jaguars believe Thomas would have had a bigger impact had he been healthy all season, and if that’s the case in 2016 he should be able to top 60 receptions and approach double-digit touchdowns. The biggest question is whether Lewis will return. He’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent but he said he hopes he can work out a deal to return before free agency begins because he wants to finish his career in Jacksonville. The Jaguars are interested in bringing him back but have not yet begun talks. Harbor also is an unrestricted free agent but Koyack, a seventh-round draft pick who spent the ’15 season on the practice squad, could potentially fill the same role.
