The Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-1 and have a ton of young talent on offense, and a recent gamble they made is already paying off. Don't look now, but the Jags are in a great spot through three weeks. The story of the season thus far has been the stingy and aggressive defense, while the offense has honestly struggled.
But despite the struggles, head coach Liam Coen has already got the run game going, and the team does have a ton of young playmakers on the outside for Trevor Lawrence. You get the sense that the Jags do have a formula to begin putting this operation together as the season goes on.
First-year GM James Gladstone made a huge gamble in the offseason at a key position, and it's already begun to pay off.
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The Jaguars gambled on Brenton Strange, and it's already begun to pay off
Many of us likely saw this breakout coming, and through three games, third-year tight end Brenton Strange has been a huge bright spot. He's already caught 13 passes for 137 yards. He's been targeted 16 times, so his reliability has been huge thus far.
In 2024, Strange caught 40 passes for 411 yards and two touchdowns. If he kept his current pace up in 2025 over an entire season, he'd finish 2025 with 73 receptions and 777 yards, which would be high-end production from the position.
On top of that, the former Penn State Nittany Lion has distinguised himself for his wilingness to contribute as a blocker in both the passing and running game, an area where Engram left a bit to be desired.
Looking back, the Jags made a huge gamble when they shockingly cut ties with Evan Engram in the offseason. At the time, Gladstone brought up the need to adress the larger scale roster as the reason for releasing the veteran tight end and wide receiver Christian Kirk.
After getting the boot, Engram signed a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos but has only caught four passes for 33 yards. He also missed Week 3 with an injury.
Yes, it's early, but the offseason gamble James Gladstone made in wanting to feature Brenton Strange in the tight end room has already begun to pay off in a huge way for the Jaguars.