Jacksonville Jaguars WR Collin Johnson shines once again

Collin Johnson stood out for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13.

Rookie wide receiver Collin Johnson was a bright spot for the Jacksonville Jaguars when they played the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. However, the Texas standout wasn’t done, and had another solid performance against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.

Early in the season, Johnson was buried in the depth chart. DJ Chark Jr, Laviska Shenault Jr, Keelan Cole, and Chris Conley were all ahead of him and hardly saw any playing time. Before Week 12, the most offensive snaps he had seen were 23 in Week 5.

A few weeks ago, head coach Doug Marrone said in a sitdown with the local media the team liked his size and the fact he was a big target. He also mentioned he liked the rookie wideout had done in practice and added he would get more playing time down the road.

Collin Johnson has had a couple of solid weeks for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

At the time, Marrone’s comments sounded like coachspeak, but Johnson has indeed had a bigger role on offense the last couple of weeks. Against the Browns, he played on 52 snaps, which accounted for 80 percent of the team’s total snaps on offense. Last week, he also played on 39 total snaps, his second-most of the year. While Chark and Shenault are the Jaguars’ main receivers, they haven’t been as productive as Johnson in that span.

That doesn’t mean Johnson is better and should take their spot though. He’s been simply gotten more favorable matchups and has taken advantage of them. Also, it doesn’t hurt he developed a good rapport with veteran quarterback Mike Glennon while playing in the Jaguars’ scouting team.

The Jaguars will have to address many pressing roster needs in the offseason. However, wide receiver isn’t one of them. They have a couple of solid starters in Laviska Shenault and DJ Chark, but they also have Collin Johnson, who has stepped up when his name has been called.