Jacksonville Jaguars need more production from their tight end unit

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t getting enough production from their TEs.

Coming out of their Bye Week and heading into Week 9, the Jacksonville Jaguars have the 12th-best passing offense in the NFL. They have scored 13 touchdowns through the air and their wide receiver corps, which is very deep, has been responsible for nine of them.

The same can’t be said about their tight end unit, which has scored just one mere touchdown as a group and hasn’t contributed much in the passing game. Veteran James O’Shaughnessy leads the group with 15 receptions for 147 yards. Tyler Eifert, who has scored the unit’s lone touchdown, is next with 11 catches for 93 yards.

Expecting Pro Bowl numbers from either Eifert or O’Shaughnessy would be foolish. Injuries have robbed Eifert from the playmaking prowess he displayed early in his career and O’Shaughnessy has never shown he can be the kind of receiving threat fellow tight ends George Kittle o Travis Kelce are. However, the Jaguars surely expected more than 26 receptions between the two before the start of the 2020 season.

The Jaguars drafted Tyler Davis this year and signed Bell Ellefson as an undrafted free agent after the player’s selection process finished, but neither of them has recorded a stat this year other than a two-conversion by Ellefson. Suddenly sliding either one into a bigger role may not be the smartest thing to do moving forward.

Doug Marrone thinks the Jacksonville Jaguars TEs will step up soon.

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone acknowledged in a recent sitdown with the media that the team needs to get better production from their tight ends. He says the group had a solid training camp but things didn’t turn out the way the team expected. Nevertheless, Marrone has a positive outlook regarding the situation.

The Jaguars head coach believes Eifert should be more effective after having the chance to rest. He also mentioned that Ellefson has been a surprise and has done a good job, so we may see him on the field more often.  The North Dakota State product was a two-time All-Conference and 2019  All-American performer. Furthermore, he set a school record with 16 receiving touchdowns, the most by a tight end in Bisons’ history, so it makes sense that the team is interested in seeing what he brings to the table.

Rookie Jake Luton will get the starting nod against the Houston Texans in Week 9, and he will need as much help as he can. Having a solid tight end group will help the Jaguars achieve that goal.