A breakout campaign by Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange this season would probably surprise a fair share of people, considering he caught only five passes as a rookie in 2023.
But that is precisely what CBS Sports analyst Chris Trapasso envisions for Jacksonville’s former second-round NFL draft pick this year.
Trapasso named Strange to his “out of nowhere” breakout team ahead of the 2024 season, citing the athleticism and receiving potential noted in Strange’s draft profile, paired with Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson’s history of utilizing multiple tight ends in his offense, as his reasoning.
Strange is directly behind 114-catch man Evan Engram in the tight end room. But let’s not forget, Eagles coach Doug Pederson has history deploying two tight ends as focal points of the offense. In Philadelphia, under Pederson’s watch, Dallas Goedert blossomed into the borderline elite player he is today after Zach Ertz set the record for most receptions in a single season by a tight end in NFL history with 116.
In short, there’s room for Strange in the Jaguars offense, even with newcomers at receiver like first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis.
And, like Engram, Strange is a freaky athletic specimen. At nearly 6-4 and 253 pounds, the former Penn State star ran 4.7 and had a vertical and broad jump in the 82nd and 91st percentile at the tight end position. The receiving chops are there too. Strange caught 52 passes for 587 yards with eight touchdowns in his final two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
In what could amount to a make-or-break year for [Pederson], I’m looking forward to seeing Strange as a contributing TE2 in this Jacksonville offense.
The Jaguars put Strange on the field for 307 snaps offensively during his rookie year, awarding him a significant role. He received just nine targets, however, hauling in five for 35 yards and one touchdown.
Strange spent 217 of his snaps blocking versus 90 as a route-runner, according to Pro Football Focus.
Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson suggested Monday that Strange and fellow 2023 Day 2 Jaguars draft pick, running back Tank Bigsby, have shown significant development throughout their second training camp with the team, indicating both could be suited to contribute more consistently in 2024.
For Strange to reach Trapasso’s projection, progression in the receiving game would need to be noticeable, specifically.
“We’ve really put those guys in position to see what they can do,” Pederson said.
“I think Brenton has done a great job there. Looking at him, I think Tank’s done a good job picking up. Some of those guys that really have embraced that role that they’re in even though they’re still kind of in those backup [roles].”
Strange will get his first chance at putting together a breakout season Saturday when Jacksonville hosts Kansas City for its preseason opener.