5 former Jacksonville Jaguars players who could thrive on new teams in 2023

2. Jacksonville Jaguars player who could thrive on a new team: Marvin Jones Jr.

The Urban Meyer era is now an afterthought but there's no doubt his short-lived tenure was one of the most taxing times in team history. Right off the bat, Meyer showed he have no regard for players, hiring Chris Doyle as the Jaguars' director of sports performance.

In case you missed it, Doyle had a history of making racist remarks and abusing players at Iowa. After the backlash the hire created, the Jaguars rightfully moved on from Doyle just one day after announcing his addition to Meyer's staff. That was just one of many times Meyer raised eyebrows for his lack of judgment.

One of the many times he made headlines for the wrong reasons, Meyer got into a heated argument with veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., one of the team's bright spots that year.

Jones later said that Meyer routinely lied to players, which isn't hard to believe given his track record of pointing fingers at everyone but him. In retrospect, Jones deserves praise for standing up and you could make the case that his first year with the team is underappreciated.

The former Cal Golden Bear signed a two-year deal with the Jags in 2021 and was their leading receiver that year, hauling in 73 receptions for 832 yards with four touchdowns. However, his targets decreased with the arrival of Christian Kirk and Zay Jones last offseason. Nevertheless, Jones was still able to catch 46 receptions for 529 yards with four three touchdowns.

Jones walked in free agency and signed with the Detroit Lions, where he'll join Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown. He had previously played for the Lions from 2016 to 2020, so he isn't entering uncharted territory. The veteran wideout had a productive stretch during his first stint in Detroit, tallying 289 receptions for 4,2961 yards with 36 touchdowns (and he missed nearly half of the 2018 season).