Could Keelan Cole Have A Breakout Season In 2018?

Keelan Cole, the Jacksonville Jaguars second-year wide receiver, must take what he learned in his first season with the team and build a solid second year.

When asked about Keelan Cole at his press conference on Tuesday, Jacksonville Jaguars’ wide receivers’ coach Keenan McCardell was beaming with pride. The second-year pro out of Kentucky Wesleyan was the surprise of training camp last season as an undrafted rookie free agent and was a pleasant addition to the team’s passing offense.

Now, it’s time for Cole to show his first season in black and teal wasn’t a one-hit wonder. McCardell said this could be a big season for his student, in an offense that still figures to be growing as a unit, and moving toward reaching its full potential.

"“My point of emphasis with him is to continue to get better,” McCardell said on Tuesday from TIAA Bank Field. “Don’t rest on what you did last year. You want to be ten times better than you were last year. He looked at me like, ‘Huh?’ ‘Yeah, ten times better.’ You are scratching the surface.”"

If the surface is just being scratched, then the 6-foot-1, 25-year-old could take a huge step forward this season as the team’s top pass catcher. While Marqise Lee and Donte Moncrief may be ahead of Keelan Cole on the depth chart, it does not mean things cannot change in training camp or during the regular season.

There is no true “No. 1” wide receiver on this roster – something that can work to Jacksonville’s advantage or it could be one of the missing links to reaching the Super Bowl in Atlanta. McCardell said he enjoys working with the guys who are out there and knows there is still plenty of work to be done. While he knows this could be a special group on the field, with speed to burn, he also said having someone on the field like Julio Jones or Antonio Brown makes his job a little bit easier.

Cole could play in the slot or on the outside in three and four wide receiver sets.

"“I tell guys that we are developing those type of guys. It is great to be able to have a group of guys that you can always count on anyone of those guys to make a play,” McCardell said.“It is a little bit easier for him [offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett] because he has a choice of different styles of receivers and just say that you have one guy and you have to put all the pressure on one guy and the other guys will step up. It is great to have a multitude of receivers that can make plays.”"

Keelan Cole has also excelled in the classroom, where he studies plays and opponents to get a better grasp of this offense, something McCardell said he expects more of this coming season. Playing at a small school meant he did not play against the best competition in college. But his grit and his determination have helped him on the next level.

"“Being from Kentucky Wesleyan it was a lot going on in his first year. This year now he is starting to understand how we are teaching him and he is starting to understand whether zones – how to sit down in the zone and he is running by folks too. That kept going from last year, which is great,” McCardell said."