4 best kept secrets on the Jaguars roster for the 2022 NFL season

No. 3 Jaguars best-kept secret in 2022: Dan Arnold, TE

Who was the last good tight end you remember the Jaguars had? Mercedes Lewis? Julius Thomas landed in Jacksonville to big fanfare in 2015 but he didn’t become the difference-maker the Jags thought he would be.

The truth is that team hasn’t gotten much production out of the tight end group in recent years and things weren’t much different in 2021, when Urban Meyer try to upgrade the position several times but only got it right when the Jags traded for Dan Arnold.

Of all the tight ends Jacksonville got last year — Chris Manhertz, Luke Farrell, Jacob Hollister, Tim Tebow (yikes!) — Arnold was the most productive, and looking back, it was silly the Jaguars didn’t sign him in free agency because they couldn’t fit him in their budget.

Arnold went on to have an immediate impact, catching two passes for 29 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. While this doesn’t sound like a big deal, it’s important to point out that he had been traded to Jags just three days before the game. The former Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneer went on to become one of Trevor Lawrence’s favorite targets and hauled in a solid 25 receptions for 286 yards in the next five contests.

Unfortunately, Arnold suffered an MCL sprain in Week 11 and was sidelined for the remainder of the year. He’s now healthy and even with the arrival of Evan Engram, who is slated to be the No. 1 tight end on the Jaguars’ offense in 2022, Arnold should get his fair share of targets.

In fact, he should get favorable matchups with all the attention Engram and the Jags’ wide receiver corps will get this upcoming season.