The Jacksonville Jaguars found themselves on the wrong end of the win column after a grueling, yet competitive matchup against their divisional rivals in the Houston Texans. The Texans defeated the Jaguars by a score of 27-25 in a battle that was within reach for the Jags to win.
Despite the loss, there were some players who improved their stock, while others did the opposite. Lets take a look at four of those players who either stood out in a good way, or bad way.
Stock Up: QB Jake Luton
Jaguars rookie quarterback Jake Luton proved that he can play in the NFL. While he wasn’t perfect by any means, he played well enough to give the Jags multiple opportunities to win.
The sixth-round rookie out of Oregon State finished the game with a 68.4% completion rate (26-of-38) for 304 passing yards and a pick. He only had one touchdown pass, but it was a beauty and he even rushed for a 13-yard touchdown, which put the Jaguars in prime position to tie the game up. Unfortunately, the ensuing two-point conversion failed and the Jags would not be able to complete the comeback.
Luton has drawn some similarities to his sixth-round counterpart in Jags quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who he started for because of a thumb injury. With Minshew not even at the point where he can throw yet, he could be playing for an extended period of time, which means Luton has a chance to get better in time.
If Luton can replicate the success he had against the Texans, then head coach Doug Marrone will have an interesting decision to make when/ if Minshew is healthy enough to play.
Stock Down: DT Taven Bryan
The Jaguars’ defense has been much maligned all year but the defensive line has truly had it’s fair share of problems. One of those problems has been the play of defensive tackle Taven Bryan this year.
Bryan has not played well this season, entering the week with a 54.5, per Pro Football Focus. Against the Texans, he finished with only two tackles and was actually benched in favor of reserve defensive lineman Doug Costin.
Bryan was selected with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Florida University. Since, he’s accumulated 62 tackles in his three seasons with the Jags, but he has only 3.5 sacks overall leading up to Sunday’s game against the Texans.
Sunday may have represented the Jaguars acknowledging that Bryan may not be the guy to anchor the defensive line and there could be a change in the offseason if the production doesn’t pick up.
Stock Up: WR DJ Chark Jr.
It would seem preposterous that a Pro Bowl wide receiver and the best offensive weapon on the Jags’ team would have a falling stock, but it is the case as D.J. Chark Jr. has had a stretch of forgettable games in the past few weeks.
Through Weeks 5-7, Chark was only able to garner 11 receptions on 25 targets for 87 yards and has not found the endzone. Sunday’s game reminded everyone on how dominant he can be as he finished with seven receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. Chark was targeted 12 times in the game, so it appears that Luton feels extremely comfortable looking Chark’s way whenever under duress.
If Luton retains the job, we could see more of these connections for the rest of the season.
Stock Down: CB C.J. Henderson
It’s tough being a rookie in the NFL but it has been a huge trial by fire season for Jags rookie cornerback C.J. Henderson.
After being selected with the No. 9 overall selection out of Florida, Henderson has had a rollercoaster of a season as he currently has a disappointing 60.0 PFF grade with a 60.3 grade in coverage.
On Sunday, the rookie had a game to forget as he was the main culprit behind a huge 77-yard touchdown from Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to wide receiver Will Fuller V. The rookie also committed an extremely costly 50-yard pass interference penalty on Fuller, which set up a one-yard touchdown from running back Duke Johnson. That score capped off a 98-yard drive from the Texans and the penalty played a large part in aiding it.
While Henderson was drafted to be the cornerstone of the secondary and while he is an intriguing athlete, the past few weeks have not been kind to him and his struggles against the Texans reflect that. Hopefully, he steps things up during the second half of the season as the Jags have some notable opponents coming up.