Jaguars keep revamping WR corps with addition of Zay Jones

The Jacksonville Jaguars want to put Trevor Lawrence in a position to succeed, so it’s not surprising to see them take an aggressive approach on Day 1 of the legal tampering period. After agreeing to terms with former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk, they have now landed Zay Jones, who last played for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Jags and Jones have agreed to a three-year deal that can be worth up to $30 million with a base salary of $24 million. A second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2017, Jones was traded to the Raiders in the middle of the 2019 season. He went on to appear in 43 games with 18 starts and haul in 81 receptions for 847 yards with two touchdowns.

Brown is the third skill-position player the Jags have agreed to terms with so far in free agency. First, they reached an agreement with Christian Kirk and just a few hours later, they landed former New York Giants tight end Evan Engram.

The Jaguars might have paid too much to acquire Zay Jones.

An NFL player is worth what a club is willing to pay him. Whether they live up to their contract and the expectations surrounding them is a whole different deal. The Jaguars believe Jones is worth an average of $8 million per year and he may very well become a key cog on their offense, but the truth is that his production in previous years isn’t on par with the deal he got from the Jaguars.

Jones has only had more than 600 yards in a season once, and that was back in 2018. Maybe he hasn’t found the ideal fit just yet but he’s already going to join his third NFL team and although there’s a chance he could be a late bloomer, he hasn’t shown enough to make fans think he’s going to have a breakout year in Jacksonville.

It’s uncertain what kind of role Jones will have with the Jaguars but based on what he will get, he won’t probably ride a bench. Grading his contract may be a bit premature but at first sight, it currently feels like Jacksonville overpay for him.

However, if Jones turns out to be a playmaker in Jacksonville, nobody will question the signing. The opposite is true though. If he doesn’t pan out, general manager Trent Baalke will deserve all the criticism he will probably get in the upcoming days.