Ranking the 6 best Jacksonville Jaguars under 25 in 2022

No. 5 best Jaguars player under 25 in 2022 – Laviska Shenault Jr, WR

Third-year wide receiver Lavisa Shenault Jr. has had a rough offseason and it’s not precisely due to something he did but because of the offseason moves the Jaguars have made over the last few months. To begin with, general manager Trent Baalke signed Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency. Also, Laquon Treadwell signed a one-year deal to return to Jacksonville after becoming one of their most productive targets late in the 2021 season.

Jones and Kirk both got big contrast and are expected to play a significant role on offense. Meanwhile, Treadwell will probably become the fourth or fifth receiver on the depth chart but will also get his fair of targets. This has left Shenault facing an uphill battle to earn playing time in 2022, which might not be fair since he wasn’t the sole reason the Jags’ ranked 32nd in points scored last year. But such is life in the NFL, which stands for ‘not for long’.

Shenault had a productive rookie campaign, hauling in 58 receptions for 630 yards with five touchdowns. This made him a favorite to have a breakout year ahead of the 2021 campaign but he, like most fellow Jaguars, ended up not performing up to expectations. Viska in particular amassed a solid 63 catches but averaged less than 10 yards per catch. To make matters worse, he didn’t reach the endzone even once.

Having said that, it’s too early to give up on Shenault. He certainly needs to cut down his number of drops and he’s not a deep threat. However, he has enough speed to get deep and he’s one of the best receivers at forcing missed tackles in the NFL. The former Colorado Buffalo still has time to develop into a game-changing wide out and it wouldn’t be shocking if he does it in 2022.