Liam Coen reveals how Jaguars can unlock Parker Washington’s full potential

Wide receiver Parker Washington flashed potential in his first two NFL seasons, but it wasn't until 2025 that he had a breakout year. But as impressive as he was, the Jacksonville Jaguars expect even bigger things from him next season.

Early in his career, Washington mostly lined up in the slot, but he proved last year that he can also thrive in the boundaries. Now, the Jags want to unlock one part of his game that they've rarely taken advantage of.

The Jaguars want Parker Washington to take the next step in 2026

Liam Coen met with the local media after Day 1 of Organized Team Activities. He said that he's been pleased with Parker Washington thus far, pointing out that he's shown tremendous growth dating back to the end of 2025.

"Oh man, he's done a nice job this spring so far," Coen told reporters (1:11 mark). I guess a lot of people in the way you look at maybe his stats of the season and the late surge, and doing what he did in the second half this season, and I thought we saw some flashes. You look at Cincinnati early in the season, where it really came on, and then just the consistency of the dominating presence that he was towards the end of the season, the things that he was able to do both in the slot and outside for us.

Later in the exchange, Coen said that he wants Washington to run a more diverse route tree and vertical routes.

"I think activating him a little bit, continuing to work on the ball-in-hand stuff that he can, I think, do at a high level because of the way he's built and wired, the screen game, continuing to work on those things, the jet sweeps, getting on the ball in some of those ways. And then the control route tree, the complete route tree, excuse me, of slot outside being able to do all those things, I think that's a step he can take," Coen said.

A sixth-round pick in 2023, Washington mostly got playing time early in his career when Christian Kirk missed time with injuries because both of them mostly lined up in the slot. That said, he made the most out of it and showed enough potential in 2024 that the team's brass cut ties with Kirk the following year.

With Kirk out of the picture, Washington managed to break out, reeling in 58 receptions for 847 yards with five touchdowns. One reason for his success was that Coen deployed him in the boundaries way more than the previous coaching staff did. And if he can get deep, he'll present even more trouble for opposing defenses.

It's also worth noting that at 5'10" and 204 pounds, Washington is built more like a running back than a receiver. This was a big reason he slid to Round 3 of the draft and mostly saw time inside.

Parker Washington is poised to explode for the Jaguars

As Liam Coen stated, Parker Washington had previously flashed, not only in 2025 but throughout his whole career. Once he got the chance to show what he had, he delivered. Now, the former Penn State Nittany Lion is entering a contract year, and he'll be incentivized to once again have a banner season.

That's why extending Washington now would be a wise move. The longer the Jaguars wait to pay him, the more they'll have to fork out. especially if he becomes a more complete receiver.

But regardless of when the Jaguars extend Washington, they surely know that they have a star in the making.

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