Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 Predictions for WR DJ Chark

Last season was DJ Chark’s breakout year for the Jacksonville Jaguars. What is in store for him and the team during the 2020 season?

The Jacksonville Jaguars front office did DJ Chark a favor this offseason by adding yet another weapon to the team’s passing game. Chark, who emerged as the Jaguars’ top receiving option in 2019, topping 1,000 yards for the season, has a new running mate in Colorado’s Laviska Shenault, Jr.

The two wide receivers are expected to make some noise this season in Jacksonville. With the rookie on board and the addition of Collin Johnson out of Texas drafted in the fifth round this past month, the look of the team’s wide receiver room has changed – for the better.

The Jaguars wide receivers are a group that I would term underrated since there is not a true second option after Chark. Dede Westbrook was injured and played that way part of the season. Veteran Chris Conley had his best season in the NFL and could do more if given the opportunity. Keelan Cole wasn’t used as often as he could have been, but when he got on the field, he produced numbers.

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Bringing in Tyler Eifert to help the tight end position could also help open the passing game up underneath and in the red zone this season.

These are certainly good things for new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden to have in his arsenal this coming season. But if the passing game is to get going, it has to be Chark who makes things happen. Then, hopefully, with the new offensive game plan – a style of the West Coast Offense – the other sets of hands on the roster will open things up downfield.

These Jaguars could be known for their passing game after the past three seasons of trying to run the football down the throats of their opponents with some success and plenty of failure.

And if Chark continues on the same path, this could be a huge season for the third-year player out of LSU. He and quarterback Gardner Minshew became a solid pass-catch combination.

Here are three predictions for Chark this coming season.

90 Catches

After posting 73 catches in 15 games and playing with two quarterbacks last season, the balance of continuing to play with Minshew could mean the two of them become one of the better pass-catch duos in the NFL. Certainly one of the youngest ones.

Chark, at 6’4″ and 199 pounds, is one of the fastest players at his position and uses his speed and height to win 50-50 passes. He is also a solid red-zone threat. I suspect Gruden will want to get him the ball more often, as he opens up the passing game with more short and intermediate passes.

Chark could have a 1,300-yard season and 90 catches if the Jacksonville Jaguars commit to the pass first instead of the run.

All-Pro Season

Chark made the Pro Bowl last season, taking the first step toward being one of the elite wide receivers in the league. But he must continue to show he can be the next in a shortlist of perennial stars at the wide receiver position on this roster.

There are plenty of dynamic wide receivers in the NFL, but taking the next step means more exposure and even better play on the field. 90 catches could garner All-Pro status for Chark, which means he takes his place with Jimmy Smith as one of the best to ever put on a Jacksonville Jaguars jersey.

Also, making the Pro Bowl has a way of sticking on a player’s resume. Once you have gotten to Orlando, players tend to remember you, especially at the skilled positions. Hopefully, that means Chark has a solid chance to receive more love for his play on the field in a small market like Jacksonville.

Contract Extension

For everything the Jacksonville Jaguars have dealt with this past offseason. Not getting a deal done with Yannick Ngakoue and deciding not to pick up Leonard Fournette’s fifth-year option, this is the one thing the team must do after 2020.

Wide receivers are easy to come by. Elite pass catchers are not. If Chark continues to develop into one of the best in the AFC, the front office cannot hesitate to make him a fixture in the organization’s future plans.

Locking Chark up, to team with Minshew over the long haul of a rebuild would be the smartest thing general manager David Caldwell could do for the future of this team.