Several players came through for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the not-pretty but gritty 19-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5.
Wide receiver Parker Washington scored twice, while kicker Cam Little nailed the walk-off field goal that put the Jags on top. For his part, punter Logan Cooke is (rightly) being showered in praise because of his perfect placement of DaVon Hamilton's snaps. Having said that, rookie Josh Cameron isn't getting nearly as much attention as their teammates are getting despite the fact that he also delivered when called upon.
Cameron caught a season-high three catches for 43 yards on six targets in the win over Philly. He also had a touchdown return on a kickoff that was called back because of penalties. Nevertheless, the first-year wideout is quietly making a case to get a bigger role on offense as the year progresses.
Josh Cameron is taking advantage of the chances the Jaguars are giving him
NFL analyst Jacob Gibbs noted on Twitter that Josh Cameron's Yards Per Route Run of 2.85 ranks third in the league this season. The only receivers with a better YPRR are Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) and Christian Watson.
In case you were wondering, YPP is an advanced statistic that measures how many yards a player gains per route run. It's a small sample, but Cameron's YPP shows that he's making the most of his chances. On top of that, the former Baylon Bear is averaging 14.7 yards per catch. What stands out is that he has better numbers despite the fact that teammates Brian Thomas Jr. and Nate Boerkircher have logged more playing time.
Thus far, Thomas and Boerkircher have played 48.3 percent and 46.6 percent of the team's total offensive snaps, respectively. Meanwhile, Cameron has appeared on 30.8 percent of the team's offensive snaps. It's fair to say that he's done enough to earn a bigger role moving forward.
Of course, context is necessary. Boerkircher has seen more playing time, but that's because he's carved out a role as a blocker on the Jacksonville offense and isn't a big part of the passing game. On the other hand, Thomas has been wildly inconsistent this season, so maybe Cameron should take away some of his snaps.
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Josh Cameron gives the Jaguars yet another weapon on offense
Keep in mind that Josh Cameron has only played five games in the NFL as of this writing, so he has yet to reach his ceiling. This should get the Jaguars hyped up, as they suddenly have another weapon on an already stacked offense.
Parker Washington is firmly entrenched as the team's No. 1 receiver, while Jakobi Meyers has become one of Trevor Lawrence's most trusted targets. Ditto, tight end Brenton Strange. Add Cameron to the mix, and Jacksonville's group of pass-catchers suddenly looks great.
It's also worth noting that by giving Cameron more playing time on offense, the Jags can keep Travis Hunter on defense full-time. Similarly, his quick emergence kind of makes up for Brian Thomas Jr.'s shortcomings this season. Granted, they have different skill sets and bring different things to the table, but what ultimately matters is whether they can produce and help the team.
Josh Cameron certainly can, which is why the Jaguars need to give him a bigger role moving forward.
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