While Thursday night’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was a frustrating one to swallow, the Jaguars did show some signs of progress, especially offensively. And one of the biggest bright spots was a player making his Jacksonville debut: tight end Dan Arnold.
Arnold’s impact was a bit limited; he only made two catches for 29 yards, but that led the way among Jags tight ends. With starter James O’Shaughnessy on the injured reserve and unable to return until at least after this week’s game, Arnold could see an expanded role moving forward.
In addition to O’Shaughnessy, who was already on the roster, the Jags added Chris Manhertz in free agency and Luke Farrell in the draft. Both are primarily blocking tight ends, and they’ve had a limited impact so far through the air.
While Arnold, who was acquired last week in the C.J. Henderson trade, didn’t have an incredibly productive start to the season in Carolina (totaling seven catches for 84 yards in three games), he is a guy that could give rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence another big target in the passing game.
Both of his targets were flat routes where Arnold turned up the field and got to showcase his yards after the catch ability. The speed he displayed in the process was unlike any fans have seen from the position, which makes his usage heading forward intriguing.
With Arizona last year, Arnold totaled 31 catches for 438 yards and four touchdowns (all career-highs) and the fourth-year tight end will look to make a similar impact in Jacksonville, where he could remain high on the depth chart even when O’Shaughnessy makes his return from injury if he continues to play as he did in his debut.
Arnold is currently one of four tight ends on the active roster, and one of those players (potentially Jacob Hollister) will likely be out when O’Shaughnessy comes back.