Category: DJ Chark

Jags injury report: WR D.J. Chark practices on a limited basis Monday

The Jags’ first injury report for Week 3 only had four players on it, including WR D.J. Chark who was limited.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have a short week to prepare for their next game as they will face the Miami Dolphins for Thursday Night Football. Luckily, there weren’t many injuries to deal with after their game against the Tennessee Titans and only four players surface on the injury report Monday. Those players were receiver D.J. Chark Jr. (chest), tight end Tyler Davis (knee), center Brandon Linder (knee), and safety Brandon Watson (illness).

Chark and Davis were both limited while Linder and Watson didn’t practice.

Chark is a new addition to the injury report and wasn’t on it last week. However, with him surfacing on the report as a limited participant, it appears the Jags will slowly work him up to full participation before Thursday’s game.

Davis, on the other hand, has been on the report since the opening week of the season. He’s been a non-participant the whole time and Monday marked his first time practicing this regular season.

As previously reported, Linder was ruled day-to-day after sustaining a knee injury in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans. He didn’t return after being ruled questionable and Tyler Shatley took his place for the remainder of the game. If Linder is unavailable, Shatley will remain in the lineup Week 3 as he’s started in seven games at the center position for the Jags.

D.J. Chark emphasizes Jags’ support for Gardner Minshew

While some may feel skeptical about Gardner Minshew’s ability, D.J. Chark made it clear that he or the Jags aren’t amongst that crowd.

After a spring and summer of uncertainty, football is finally back and the NFL will kick things off tonight with a matchup between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs in a Thursday Night Football showdown.

For the Jags, who play on Sunday, this season could be the start of something special. Gardner Minshew II will start after a rookie season during which he garnered the attention of many around the league. This time around, Minshew will face mounting pressure to live up to the hype as he begins his first season as a true starter. 

Naturally, the teammates who’ve been closest to Minshew during the offseason are among his biggest believers after watching his growth first-hand. When asked Wednesday about the second-year quarterback’s growth, D.J. Chark Jr. shared his thoughts on Minshew’s performance as team captain. 

“[It’s been] just from confidence of filling in, to just being his team—being the captain,” Chark said. “I think that’s a big jump because you know that the guys in the locker room support you and they want you to succeed. [As] opposed to wishing that somebody else was quarterback and things like that. So, I think that’s the biggest thing that transfers on the field—translates to the field because when you’re dropping back, everybody on the team wants you to succeed.”

Chark’s statements come after former Jags running back Leonard Fournette called Tom Brady the only legit quarterback he’s had. While Minshew doesn’t have a large body of work to make a call on, it seems that Chark wanted to make it clear that the current locker room isn’t among his list of doubters. 

All of that said, Minshew will get his shot to further validate his rookie success Sunday against the Jags’ longtime foes in the Indianapolis Colts. While a win wouldn’t necessarily make or break the season for the Jags, it would be huge for the team’s momentum and put another feather in the cap of Minshew to silence his critics.

Jay Gruden praises D.J. Chark’s all-around skill set, versatility

Jay Gruden believes D.J. Chark has a balanced skill set, which makes him a receiver who has little to no weakness.

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden may only be in his first year with the team, but it appears that he is already witnessing the talent that is on the roster.

After giving solid praise to sixth-round rookie quarterback Jake Luton by calling him the “biggest pleasant surprise” of training camp, Gruden shifted his focus to wide receiver D.J Chark. The veteran coordinator had highly glowing remarks about the third-year Pro Bowl receiver, who has a rare skill set you won’t find often in the league.

“Not really, he’s a different cat,” Gruden said to the media when asked if Chark compared to any other receivers he knew. “No, he’s very — he’s still a young player and he’s doing some great things. He can attack defenses a lot of different ways and from a lot of different positions, which is good. He’s got a great knowledge of the offense, he can play outside, obviously. We’re moving him around a little bit so he’s doing good inside. He’s just a good all-around player, but he’s also excellent to coach because he knows he has work to do and he wants to be great.”

Additionally, another key with Chark is his bond with Minshew which has translated to the practice field over the last few weeks. In fact, Minshew has been able to link up with Chark so frequently, it appears the young receiver could end up being the Jags training camp MVP.

While Chark is known for his electric speed, Gruden also discussed how complete of a receiver he is overall, adding that it’s hard to find a hole in his game when evaluating him:

“It’s one thing being a talented player with speed and size and have great hands, but it’s another to want to come out early and work hard and really dominate the offense from a mental standpoint. And then obviously know how to work your releases, and bump and run, and outside leverage, inside leverage, from the slot, from outside, different types of route stems that we have, that are very important. He’s done a great job with all of that,” Gruden said.”

“He’s got a skill set that you want, he’s got the size, he’s got the speed, he’s got the athletic ability, he knows how to run routes, he knows how to set up routes, obviously he can attack the football and run after the catch. So, trying to find a weakness with DJ, it’s going to be hard for me to find one.”

Chark is coming off of the best season of his career after compiling 73 receptions, 1,008 receiving yards and eight touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. With more big-bodied threats around him and Chris Conley in the receiving corps like Laviska Shenault Jr., Collin Johnson, and veteran tight end Tyler Eifert, there could be a chance for him to better those numbers in 2020. Add in the fact that he’ll be eligible for a new contract in 2021 and it appears Gruden could be getting a player who not only is just scratching the surface talent-wise, but one who will be super hungry.

Takeaways from Jags’ third day of padded practices: D.J. Chark flourishes, again

D.J. Chark has been playing out of his mind at training camp and once again couldn’t be stopped at practice Thursday.

After having Wednesday off, the Jacksonville Jaguars returned to the field Thursday for another padded practice. With a few members atop the secondary depth chart missing, the Jags’ offense had themselves a day working a lot on red-zone drills.

Here are some takeaways from Thursday’s practice:

D.J. Chark continues to be lights out

D.J. Chark’s name has been unavoidable at camp and that was especially the case Thursday though the secondary was missing starters Ronnie Harrison and C.J. Henderson. Several media members praised the third-year receiver for the day he had and it sounds like he’s veering towards a Camp MVP Award.

Chark found himself on the receiving end of multiple Gardner Minshew II touchdown passes Thursday, further strengthening their connection which seems to be getting stronger by the day. Below are two clips showcasing the day Chark had as he snagged a one-hander and caught a few touchdown passes Thursday.

There was another noteworthy clip that surfaced of Chark as he was running up the sideline with veteran Tramaine Brock tight in coverage. However, at the last moment Chark was able to showcase a burst of speed for separation, bringing the ball down for a touchdown. This is one of the many plays where his development has been on display this summer as the Pro Bowler has clearly put in a lot of offseason work.

Tight ends fared well, even without Josh Oliver

For the fans who are nervous about the loss of Josh Oliver, Thursday’s session provided some encouraging signs for the tight end position. During red-zone drills, Minshew utilized Tyler Eifert and his big frame well as News4Jax’s Jamal St. Cyr caught two touchdown connections between him and Minshew.

James O’Shaughnessy’s connection with Minshew also seemed to be re-establishing in Thursday’s practice as the two connected for a pair of touchdowns on the day.

Jags get a key pass-rusher back

After sustaining a hamstring injury earlier in the month, K’Lavon Chaisson returned to the field, and with the hits the Jags’ depth on the defensive line has taken, he was a welcomed addition.

With Yannick Ngakoue remaining out, Chaisson will be a key player to watch heading forward, because as we all know, having a pass-rush is everything for a defense.

Other notes and tidbits

  • As mentioned, both Henderson (illness, non-COVID-19 related) and Harrison (concussion protocol) were missing from the Jags’ secondary Thursday, which gave the team’s young defensive backs a good look.
  • Linebacker Myles Jack missed his second consecutive day as he also continues to deal with a non-COVID-19 related illness.
  • Sirius NFL Radio was in attendance (well, virtually) at Jags camp and spoke to several members of the organization, including Dave Caldwell, Josh Allen, and Gardner Minshew among notables.

  • The Jags activated two players from their Reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday in running back Ryquell Armstead and guard Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms. They now only have one player on the list in offensive tackle Ryan Pope.

Doug Marrone, D.J. Chark discuss leadership D.J. Hayden brings to Jags’ locker room

The Jags will be enduring a lot of changes to their locker room but one veteran who will return is D.J. Hayden, who the team has praised.

Training camp marks a good time for NFL teams to start establishing their locker-room leaders and Doug Marrone has already singled out a few for the Jacksonville Jaguars in his press conferences. Among them has been nickelback D.J. Hayden, who will be heading into his eighth season in the league and third with the Jags.

“He’s a guy, as a coach, you never want to take for granted,” Marrone said of the veteran. “He’s always doing the right thing. If I was a young player and I walked into a locker room and I was looking to see what someone does, maybe because I didn’t know, he’d be one of the guys that I look at.”

Marrone is right, for a locker-room that will be among the youngest in 2020, Hayden’s experience could prove to be invaluable. That could especially be the case when looking specifically at how young the Jags are at cornerback between rookie C.J. Henderson, third-year player Tre Herndon, fourth-round selection Josiah Scott, and a couple of undrafted rookies.

Like Marrone, those who’ve been around Hayden have come into camp aware of the leadership Hayden brings to the table. That includes one of the team’s ascending stars D.J. Chark, who has battled Hayden for over two seasons now.

“I love going against D.J. [Hayden],” Chark told the media Friday. “He’s very confident, which is something that I always admire about any player. When you’re confident, it allows me to be confident and talk smack with you. You also can learn from guys like that. He’s very smart. He knows route patterns, based off your system.”

Hayden’s play on the field also hasn’t gone under the radar on a national level either. Just recently, he was named to Touchdown Wire’s top-101 players list by Doug Farrar and was the only Jag listed. Now, it will be a matter of finding out if his play will be infectious to the rest of the Jags’ young secondary. If it is, the Jags veteran could end up being instrumental to the team moving closer to a .500 record or better.

Podcast: Which Jags free-agents could re-sign in 2021?

The Jags’ 2021 free-agency class is full of receivers including Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley. Who could they end up keeping though?

With the football season slowly approaching, Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I recorded yet another episode of the “Bleav in Jags Podcast.”

We started this week’s episode off discussing the latest in preseason and training camp news as the league announced that the preseason would be cut in half. Additionally, we discussed the contract signing of DaVon Hamilton and where he fits in the Jaguars plans heading forward.

Afterward, we discussed the latest on defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who reportedly hasn’t changed his stance about wanting to be traded. With the deadline coming up, we also discussed the possibility of trading him to the Cleveland Browns for David Njoku as proposed by ESPN recently.

Lastly, we tackled our main topic, which was a preview of the Jags’ 2021 free-agency class. With several notable names on the list, we gave our analysis on who could stay or go with notables like Leonard Fournette, Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, and more on the last years of their deals.

Feel free to listen to the archived episodes of “Bleav in the Jags,”too, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.

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Watch: Gardner Minshew, Chris Conley, D.J. Chark, members of Jags’ offense link up for workout

With virtual workouts over, several members of the Jags’ offense got together at a local high school to begin building team chemistry.

Due to the nation’s coronavirus pandemic, the NFL season has gotten off to a very unusual start. Players weren’t able to have organized team activities, minicamp, or go to their respective facilities (until last week) and have had to resort to organizing things on their own.

The Jags recently jumped onboard with the league’s workout trend, putting together an offensive workout Monday, according to the Instagram account of receiver D.J. Chark. Others who were seen in attendance were quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Josh Dobbs, receiver Chris Conley, and various other skill players from the roster.

The Jags recently wrapped up the virtual part of their offseason that replaced OTAs and it was recently announced that no team is allowed to have minicamp. That said, the Jags and 29 other teams are set to return for training camp on July 28 under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulation.

The Jags’ offense will have to put in a lot of work to get settled once they return this summer as they will be installing a new offense under Jay Gruden. With that being the case, look for the Jags’ offense to schedule more of these workouts (at least what the rules permit) down the road.

Josh Allen, D.J. Chark land on CBS Sports’ top-100 list

The Jags landed two players on CBS Sports’ top-100 list and neither are over the age of 24.

It’s that time of the year where media publications around the nation start producing their own top-100 NFL players lists, which typically includes a couple of members from the Jacksonville Jaguars. That was the case for Pete Prisco’s list which was released this week via CBS Sports.

This year, Prisco had two Jaguars on the list who aren’t even 24 yet in edge rusher Josh Allen and receiver D.J. Chark Jr.

88.) Josh Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars, LB –This is an emerging player who should be higher on this list next year. As a rookie, he had 10.5 sacks to lead all rookies.

98.) D.J. Chark, Jacksonville Jaguars, WR – In his second season, he emerged as a big-play threat outside for the Jaguars. He had 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. As the offense improves, his numbers will go up.

While the Jags may not have an elite roster, this goes to show fans that they have a good young nucleus in place. Sometimes Pro Bowl nominations aren’t quite what fans hype them up to be, but in the cases for Allen and Chark, their selections into the all-star game were certainly validated.

Allen was a player who fell in the Jags’ lap last year in the first-round but clearly should’ve been gone. After the Jags snagged him and had him under the wing of Calais Campbell, he was able to set the rookie sack record for the team and was in the running for defensive rookie of the year. Over time he’ll only get better and the mental side of the game will come more naturally as the argument could be made he produced in 2019 mostly off of his physical abilities.

As for Chark, his 2019 season was a huge step ahead of his rookie campaign. In 2018 he wasn’t able to produce all that much, accumulating only 14 catches for 174 receiving yards. However, things clearly slowed down for him last year and the addition of Jay Gruden should only propel his career, even more, heading forward.

Watch: Highlights from D.J. Chark’s 2020 Pro Bowl season

When the 2019 season started, it was clear someone needed to emerge as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver and D.J. Chark Jr. stepped to the plate and became that guy. Once the season ended, he managed to accumulate a career high of 73 catches, …

When the 2019 season started, it was clear someone needed to emerge as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver and D.J. Chark Jr. stepped to the plate and became that guy. Once the season ended, he managed to accumulate a career high of 73 catches, 1,008 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns which was good to land him in the Pro Bowl a few months ago.

Chark, 23, was a player many fans wanted to see improve himself after a rookie season in which he only recorded 14 catches and 174 receiving yards. He struggled in a variety of ways from penalties, to drops, to fumbles, and injuries. However, he didn’t let that damage his confidence and made a case to be the most improved player in the league in 2019.

Heading forward it will be interesting to see what new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden can do with Chark after watching the success he had with a young A.J. Green. Quarterback Gardner Minshew II will especially need Chark to avoid a slump in 2020 as the young quarterback will be looking to make his case as the Jags’ franchise quarterback.

Watch: DJ Chark scores a 60-yard touchdown at 2020 Pro Bowl

While it was ultimately Calais Campbell who stole the show of all the Jacksonville Jaguars who attended Sunday’s Pro Bowl, receiver DJ Chark Jr. made an impact on the offensive end. He scored one of the AFC’s four touchdowns and was the team’s …

While it was ultimately Calais Campbell who stole the show of all the Jacksonville Jaguars who attended Sunday’s Pro Bowl, receiver DJ Chark Jr. made an impact on the offensive end. He scored one of the AFC’s four touchdowns and was the team’s second-leading receiver (two catches for 67 yards).

Chark’s touchdown came in the third quarter when AFC South rival Ryan Tannehill hit him on the right side of the field for a hitch route. After catching the ball, he was able to split the defenders with his speed and take it to the house.

Sunday’s game marked Chark’s first-ever Pro Bowl. His opportunity to rep the Jags at the annual gam came after he was able to total 73 catches on the season for 1,008 yards, and eight touchdowns. His total in yardage made him the first Jaguar to hit the 1,000-yard mark since 2015 when Allen Robinson was able to do so, too.