Urban Meyer and Jaguars have to prioritize TE position
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been without a playmaking tight end since they had Mercedes Lewis on the roster in 2017. The tight end position has been evolving for some time now and we have seen how important players like Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, and George Kittle have become for their respective teams.
Tight end hasn’t been a major focus of past Urban Meyer offenses. He didn’t like the idea of using one initially while he was coaching the Florida Gators but began to warm up to the idea when he saw how beneficial they could become in a spread offense. Michael DiRocco (Jacksonville.com) wrote in 2010, “Meyer started looking for mismatches wherever he could – and he eventually figured out the best way to do that was find someone big enough to play on the line of scrimmage but fast and athletic enough to catch passes.”
Darrell Bevell didn’t have a huge focal point on tight ends either during his coordinating careers with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Detroit Lions. The tight ends in Seattle became a safety blanket for quarterback Russell Wilson and those were the years that Bevell saw the highest production at the position.
How a tight end can help the Jaguars’ offense grow:
The Jaguars need a playmaking tight end that can operate as an additional lineman and pass-catching threat. Finding one who can get more involved in the passing game is essential. They need someone who can create mismatches; someone too fast for linebackers to keep up with and someone too big for safeties to cover.
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The Jaguars don’t necessarily need to find an X-factor playmaker like Kelce and Kittle, but they need someone who can help transform that offense. Urban Meyer will play a big part in that development as well. The 2021 NFL Draft holds a lot of interesting tight ends prospects including Kyle Pitts, Pat Freiermuth, and Brevin Jordan.