4 Jacksonville Jaguars who cannot afford to regress in 2022

No. 4 Jaguars player who can’t regress in 2022 – Christian Kirk, WR.

The Jaguars got plenty of attention in free agency because they gave former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk a four-year, $72 million contract. At first sight, that looks like an excessive amount to pay for a player that has never racked up more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season but once you dig deeper, it’s not necessarily a bad deal.

A second-round pick in 2018, Kirk was the second option in the Cards’ passing game in his first three NFL seasons. However, he became their feature receiver last year when DeAndre Hopkins was slapped with a 10-game suspension. Kirk went on to have a career year, hauling in 77 receptions for 982 yards and five touchdowns. The fact that he played most of his snaps in the slot also helped him.

Kirk will be the Jaguars’ number one receiver in 2022. Although the coaching staff will move him around and have him line up outside at times, he will most likely continue to operate from the slot, where he’s been the most successful. The Jaguars have depth at wide receiver, and they will continue to lean on Marvin Jones Jr., Laquon Treadwell, and Laviska Shenault Jr. but if they want their offense to operate at full gear, they will need Kirk to keep playing at a high level.

Sure, a team cannot depend on only one player to win football games but if Kirk underperforms, the Jaguars’ offense won’t improve as much as expected in 2022.