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.