Jaguars must find ways to get their best-kept offensive secret more involved

The Jacksonville Jaguars were expected to be an elite passing unit in 2024. Unfortunately, they came crashing down. In their defense, injuries limited this team’s ability to get creative down the field as often as they’d like.

With Christian Kirk, deep thread Gabe Davis, and tight end Evan Engram, suffering season-ending injuries, Thomas has been the team's only standout in the pass-catching department. On the other hand, a hidden gem near the bottom of the Jags' pecking order to start the season has made its share of under-the-radar contributions in 2024.

Parker Washington is a sneaky offensive threat for the Jaguars

Parker Washington has never been the No. 1 guy that Trevor Lawrence or Mac Jones have looked to but is putting together another solid season for the Jaguars.

The 2023 sixth-round pick out of Penn State has been thrust into the action more and more recently, with so many players in that position currently on the injured reserve list. That’s virtually a carbon copy of Washington’s role last season when Kirk was lost for the season in that Monday Night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

In 15 games this season, the youngster’s been targeted 44 times, more than double his output from his 2023 rookie campaign (21), and reeled in 27 receptions for 344 yards and one receiving touchdown.

Parker Washington’s many talents

We saw how lethal Parker Washington could be in the open field in London earlier this season, with a memorable punt return touchdown against the New England Patriots.

That’s just one of the many sides to Washington’s game that has been illuminated in 2024. In six games as a returner this season, the 22-year-old has 270 punt return yards and 173 kickoff return yards. Those are career highs for him on both fronts.

While his foot speed isn’t particularly noteworthy, nor is his size at 5’10” and over 200 pounds, he’s found a way to make a difference in many respects as an NFL player. The native of Sugar Land, Texas, has not lost a single fumble in 2024 and has even made two solo defensive tackles.

He’s got 16 receiving first downs in 2024 after 15 weeks and has done a nice job at making defenders miss.

He is averaging over 12 yards per catch, which is pretty good for a guy who’s normally fourth at best on the wide-receiving depth charts when everyone is healthy.

Parker Washington is making a case to move up the depth chart

Brian Thomas will unquestionably be the go-to guy offensively for the Jags in the years to come, but Washington could climb up the receiving latter in 2025.

Christian Kirk appears to be on his way out, while Evan Engram’s future is also uncertain. There are talks of Tee Higgins potentially coming to Duval, while a healthy Davis will probably be higher than Washington on the receiving food chain. That said, Washington would be a cheaper option for the Jags next year.

Per Spotrac, the cousin of Joshua Dobbs is inked to Jacksonville for the next two seasons and has a base salary of just over $1 million in 2025 and 2026. For what he’s produced in the return game and down the field, that’s a pretty decent bargain.

His versatility could be a valuable piece to the Jaguars’ offense in the coming years as they aim to move forward from a pair of disappointing campaigns.