Marqise Lee Makes Plays in Jaguars Thursday Night Win

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell made his intentions very clear in the 2014 NFL Draft – he wanted to fix an offense that had been one of the league’s worst for the past several seasons. He did so by drafting quarterback Blake Bortles with the third overall pick, and then by coupling him with two young receivers in the second round – Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson.

Until he was placed on injured reserve, Allen Robinson was playing at a high level and emerged as Bortles’ favorite target. Lee barely saw the field early on in the year, even being outplayed by fellow undrafted rookie reciever Allen Hurns. It was fair to call Lee’s first half of the season disappointing, but he’s been much better over the course of the last few weeks when forced into a bigger role.

Lee’s biggest assets are his speed and elusiveness, both of which were on display in probably one of the most important plays of the game. Down 10-7 to open the third quarter, the Jaguars were facing another disappointing 3-and-out on 3rd-and-7 when Bortles found Lee in the middle of the field for a 34-yard reception.

Everything about that play is great – Bortles has a clean pocket, he steps up and makes a nice throw, Lee makes a nice catch with a defender on him, and then he runs for yards after the catch. If he slips past that last defender’s grasps, he’s gone for a long touchdown. These are the kinds of plays we’ll hopefully see more often in 2015 when both the quarterback and the receivers have a little more experience.

It’s nice to see a guy who was once considered a top-10 draft talent Marqise Lee making plays, especially after being a non-factor in his first few games.