The Jaguars need to add a new weapon at wide receiver

The Jaguars have signed their quarterback, now the organization must find him a weapon at wide receiver.

News of the Nick Foles signing marks a new era for the Jaguars, gone are the days riding the roller coaster of emotions that was a Blake Bortles lead franchise. He had his chances but it  was apparent to the organization that Bortles was not consistent enough to lead such a talented team. Now Jacksonville is tasked with finding a new weapon at wide receiver for Nick Foles.

The Jaguars already have a very young core of receivers. Marqise Lee is returning from a knee injury. Dede Westbrook has loads of talent but lacks size, Keelan Cole made one amazing catch and then seemed to vanish. DJ Chark disappointed last season, but has tons of upside and is looking to have a sophomore season of improvement similar to Mike Williams of the Chargers.

With an abundance of potential for at the position Jacksonville may want to add a new veteran to help bolster the young core. What this new weapon will likely need is a big body who can provide good redzone production. This will be similar to the way that Philadelphia uses Alshon Jeffery.

There are four names that are available in free agency that the Jaguars may want to bring in as this new offensive weapon. These three receivers all share 3 similar qualities:

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1. The are not players who will break the bank, instead they will provide solid production at a reasonable price.
2. They have either been on teams that they didn’t fit the system and this hurt their production, or were on a team stacked at the wide receiver position.
3. They have all had very good production at one point in their career and it is likely that they could find that level of play once again.

Golden Tate – Golden Tate is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of any receiver in this year free agency class. Tate isn’t as tall as the other receivers being highlighted. He is only 5-10 but he is a fierce competitor.

A mid-season trade from the Detroit Lions to the Philadelphia Eagles cost a dip in production, but fighting for targets is another reason why his production may have slipped as well. A team that already featured Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews, Zach Ertz, and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles had plenty of mouths to feed.

Tate will most likely be the most expensive option at receiver, but he is someone who already has played with Nick Foles and according to Inside the Iggles, Golden Tate is interested in Jacksonville as well. 

Tyrell Williams – Another name that really pops out during this years Wide Receiver class is Tyrell Williams. Williams is two years removed from a 1,000 yard season. Williams is coming from a Los Angeles Chargers team that is loaded at wide receiver.

Williams was productive last season despite competing with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Melvin Gordon, and Austin Ekeler for catches. Williams posses size and speed which are two things that Jacksonville would love to have.

He is similar to DJ Chark in that aspect, but perhaps Jacksonville would rather sign him and allow Chark more time to grow into the receiver that Williams already is. He would be a good fit, someone who could pose as a redzone threat as well as take the top off of a defense.

Michael Crabtree – Michael Crabtree would be a perfect fit in Jacksonville. He is an older receiver, but he still has a bit more in the tank. Last season the Baltimore Ravens relied almost solely on their running game once quarterback Lamar Jackson took over.

This severely hurt his statistics this past season, despite that he was still able to produce over 600 yards. Though Crabtree isn’t significantly tall for a receiver, he has always been a great redzone target.

More than likely he will sign on a one year deal to try and prove that his drop in play was more attributed towards the Ravens scheme and not his playing ability.

Kelvin Benjamin – Kelvin Benjamin is a player that will surely garner a few eye rolls, but lets think for a moment, what is there really to lose? Sure he has a history of weight issues , and his production slipped the last few years, but lets look at why his production may have slipped and not attribute that all to his weight.

When traded to the Buffalo Bills  Benjamin was on a run first team, much like Michael Crabtree, and there was really no other option at receiver so he gained a good amount of the secondaries attention.  Once traded to the Kansas City Chiefs Kelvin was on a team with plenty of speedy receivers in Sammy Watkins, Tyreek Hill, Chris Conely and Travis Kelce who also took a majority of the redzone targets that could have been Benjamin’s.

This should be a cheap signing for a player who would be a fantastic one-on-one target in the redzone. Kelvin Benjamin knows he has a lot to prove, and this will the year where he shows he is still good enough to start in this league.