Jacksonville Jaguars: The team’s most underrated player

While he had a 1,000-yard season in 2019, Touchdown Wire is predicting more success for an underrated Jacksonville Jaguars pass catcher in 2020.

If you look at the Jacksonville Jaguars roster, you could make a case the team is full of players who are underrated in some fashion. There is plenty of opportunities for rookies or players early in their NFL development to make a sizeable impression on the coaching staff in training camp.

One player Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire believes is an underrated Jaguar is DJ Chark, who burst on the scene last season and became Jacksonville’s “go-to” wide receiver. In his third season in a Jaguars uniform, this could be the year he takes a firm command of the team’s passing game and becomes a household name in other areas of the country besides North Florida.

"“What a difference a year (and a new quarterback) made for Chark, the Jaguars’ second-round pick out of LSU in 2018. In his rookie season, he caught just 14 passes for 174 yards and didn’t start a game with Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler running the offense,” Farrar writes.More from Black and TealJacksonville Jaguars should welcome Derrick Henry into the kingdomJaguars Rumors: Trent Baalke seems to be getting respect nowBold trade proposal has Jacksonville Jaguars shipping LT Cam RobinsonJaguars News: This division rival might be making a big moveFormer Jacksonville Jaguars S Johnathan Cyprien: “New Profession, Same Standards”“But in 2019, with rookie Gardner Minshew on board, Chark caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns, made the Pro Bowl, and became one of the league’s best deep receivers, catching 13 passes of 20 or more air yards for 424 yards and four touchdowns.”"

Watching Chark in practice in OTAs and training camp was much different than in his rookie season. He looked sharper, ran better routes, and showed more confidence.

His size, at 6-foot-4 and speed, which is under 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, was utilized more in the passing game and suddenly, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a playmaker they had lacked since Allen Robinson was catching passes for the black and teal.

Part of the transition from being just a player to someone who opposing defenses have to plan for also has to do with Minshew’s development and the chemistry the two developed over the course of the season.

"“Amazing what happens when you’re a great receiver and you have a quarterback who can throw deep into tight windows. Expect more from Chark in the years to come,” Farrar added."

The Jaguars front office added more bodies to the wide receiver room this offseason with Laviska Shenault out of Colorado in the second round of the NFL Draft, then snagged Collin Johnson out of Texas in the fifth round. His 6-foot-6 frame will make things interesting in the red zone.

Now that Chark and Minshew will have more time to work on chemistry and timing from the start of training camp. There is the potential this duo could become the best in the AFC South. Those 73 catches are a nice jump-off point to build on.

The passing game should be better in 2020. There is a feeling Chark could have an even better season in a Jacksonville Jaguars uniform if he continues to show the traits of a rising star in North Florida.