Grading WR Marvin Jones’ deal with the Jaguars: A+

Receiver Marvin Jones isn’t a big name, but he’s shown big potential, and he should put up bigger numbers with the Jaguars.

Last season, the Jaguars finished 1-15, and their receiver corps was certainly part of the problem — targets with potential, but not a great deal of production. DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault Jr. are talents on the rise. But if the Jaguars are to present the most hospitable possible environment for Trevor Lawrence, they’ll need better.

The Jaguars got better at the position on the cheap on Tuesday when they agreed to terms with former Bengals and Lions receiver Marvin Jones. Jones will get $14.5 million with $9.2 million guaranteed over the next two years, and that’s a great deal for a guy who, in 2020, would have led the Jaguars in targets by 22 (115 to Chark’s 93), in receptions by 18 (76 to Shenault’s 58), and in touchdowns by four (nine to the five posted by Chark, Shenault, and Keelan Cole).

Jones has never been a WR1 in number — he has just one 1,000-yard season in his career — 2017 with the Lions, the same year he led the league in yards per reception at 18.0. The deep catch has always been a key component of Jones’ skill set. In 2020, he led the Lions with 11 catches of 20 or more air yards on 27 targets for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Pairing him with Chark in that regard gives Lawrence two vertical targets, and rounds out the Jacksonville receiver group quite nicely — for a relative pittance for a player of Jones’ abilities.