Denard Robinson and 2 Other Jaguars With Breakout Potential

Denard Robinson showed that he could be among the best at running back for short stretches of time in 2014. He proved that he was transitioning into being an NFL-caliber running back and not just a gimmick, offensive weapon that we expected when he was drafted in 2013.

While he still has a long way to go before he is considered among the best in the business consistently (and he must earn that honor), Robinson is one of three players currently on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster who could be primed for a breakout season.

The Jaguars are a young team and they need players to step up early in their careers if they hope to put a consistent product on the field and if they hope to win some games. Too often in 2013 and especially 2014 the team collapsed seemingly from inexperience. Now with another season under their belts, we can start looking at players GM Dave Caldwell has brought in who could be breakout players for 2015.

We’ll examine three of them at this point in the offseason.

Nov 9. 2014; UNITED KINGDOM; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Denard Robinson (16) is pursued by Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kyle Wilber (51) and defensive tackle Nick Hayden (96) on a 32-yard touchdown run in the first quarter in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

1) Denard Robinson, Running Back

Denard Robinson showed that he can completely dominate a game if he’s fed the ball. The Jags’ first win of the season came with him getting 20+ touches in week seven. He was close to that mark for the next couple of weeks but then tapered off. Still, he maintained a per-attempt average of 4.31 on the season and had seven games with over four yards per attempt. Three games he was over five yards per attempt. What Robinson needs is a chance to show he can consistently maintain high per-attempt numbers.

He finished the 2014 season with just 582 yards but seems primed to build on that. While the Jaguars may be looking for a running back during the offseason (and have added former Baltimore Ravens running back Bernard Pierce already), expect Robinson to come out fighting to be the guy in Jacksonville for 2015. If the Jaguars find a way to keep his attempts closer to 20, they may find themselves in games longer, not having to rely on Blake Bortles’ arm to keep them in contention. Robinson brought the most balance to the offense in 2014 and should be able to provide consistent balance in 2015 as well.

Next: Can Blake Bortles break out in 2015?