Jacksonville Jaguars: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• Pro Bowl (1996)
• 4x 1,000-yard receiver w/Jaguars
• 499 receptions for 6,393 yards and 30 touchdowns in six years w/Jaguars
• The “Thunder” to Jimmy Smith’s “Lightning”

Wide receiver Keenan McCardell had a very long NFL career after being a 12th-round pick by the Washington Redskins in the 1991 NFL Draft out of UNLV. While he wouldn’t play for the team that drafted him, McCardell would first experience some NFL gridiron action with the Cleveland Browns.

However, it would not be until 1996 when he came to the Jaguars that McCardell became a star wide receiver. Along with teammate Jimmy Smith, the Jaguars had one of the most vaunted aerial attacks in all of football with quarterback Mark Brunell slinging them the pigskin.

McCardell would make the Pro Bowl in his first year with the Jaguars in 1996. That fall, he had 85 catches for 1,129 yards and three touchdowns. Though he only had 30 career touchdown receptions in his six years with the Jaguars, he did go over 1,000 yards receiving four times in Jaguars uniform.

While McCardell was excellent during his six-year stint in Jacksonville, that included two trips to the AFC Championship Game, he didn’t get to spend his entire NFL prime in North Florida. McCardell would join up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. He won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers that fall and his second career Pro Bowl the following year in 2003.

McCardell would play four additional years after the 2003 NFL campaign with the then San Diego Chargers and one last year with the team that initially drafted him in Washington before retiring.

Overall, McCardell’s body of work is impressive. He amassed 883 receptions for 11,373 yards and 63 touchdowns in his 17-year NFL career out of UNLV. Though probably a candidate to reside in the Hall of Very Good, McCardell’s best chance at joining a team hall of fame is eventually making his way into the Pride of the Jaguars.