Tag: D.J. Chark

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.

4 Jaguars the Colts must game plan for in Week 1

Keep an eye on these Jaguars in Week 1.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a busy offseason after trading away or releasing a large portion of their team. Only a small percentage of players still remain from their improbable 2017 AFC Championship berth.

While their talent is limited, they still have a lot of players who can have success in the NFL. This team is young and is building something for the future. Regardless, they should not be overlooked.

>>>MORE: Thursday’s injury report<<<

As the Colts head south to TIAA Bank Field this weekend, here are four Jaguars they must game plan for in Week 1:

QB Gardner Minshew II

Minshew is a guy that is tough to root against even for a Colts fan. The second-year quarterback out of Washington State has quickly become a popular young talent in the NFL. His future in Jacksonville is up in the air, which gives him all the motivation to have a big 2020 season.

After finishing with 3,271 passing yards and 21 touchdowns in just 14 games played, Minshew has the ability to put up points. With a young and talented receiving corps around him, the Colts will have to make him uncomfortable in the pocket to have success on Sunday.

The hope is that new defensive tackle DeForest Buckner can apply some pressure from the interior, but they will have to move Minshew off his spot early.

>>>MORE: Colts vs. Jags: Who has the edge?<<<

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Jags’ initial roster listed as the youngest in the NFL

The Jags average age is 24.9, per Philly Voice Sports, making them the NFL’s youngest team for 2020.

Once the Jacksonville Jaguars named their initial 53-man roster Saturday many fans predicted that it would be the youngest in the NFL — and those fans weren’t wrong.

In the calculations done by Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice Sports, the Jags registered an average age of 24.9, good for first when looking at all 32 teams. The team that came in at a close second was the Miami Dolphins who acquired an average of 25 of the dot.

Last season the Jags’ average was 25.6, which was good for eighth in the league. However, they lost several key veterans over the age of 28 this season when they traded quarterback Nick Foles (31), defensive lineman Calais Campbell (34), and cornerback A.J. Bouye (29). They also released receiver Marqise Lee (28) and nose tackle Marcell Dareus (30).

With no roster changes since Saturday, the Jags have 16 rookies on their roster, 12 of whom were selected in April’s draft. The other four were undrafted rookies in cornerback Luq Barcoo, defensive tackle Doug Costin, long snapper Ross Matiscik, and running back James Robinson.

Despite the Jags’ youth movement, general manager Dave Caldwell and Doug Marrone clearly have been high on the group as the Jags head into a crucial season for both personnel members. Caldwell once again expressed his faith in the roster Saturday and warned people not to count the group out until we see what they can do in the regular season.

“I love this team,”  Caldwell said. “I love the energy this team brings. I love some of the veteran leadership we brought in with Joe Schobert [and] Tyler Eifert. We’re not that young on offense. You have a guy like Chris Conley. The offensive line has all played a lot of games together. Keelan Cole, Dede Westbrook, we have guys. DJ Chark Jr. So, don’t count this team out yet and I think they’ll tell you the same thing.”

As for the rest of the AFC South, the Indianapolis Colts (27.7) registered the tenth youngest roster while the Houston Texans (26.1) were No. 21 and the Tennessee Titans (26.5) were No. 28. Only time will tell how much these averages will effect each other, but many national pundits believe the Jags will be last in the division and could possibly land the No. 1 overall pick for 2021.

Jags’ D.J. Chark projected to hit 1,100 receiving yards in 2020

The Huddle believes D.J. Chark will up his stats in 2020, which isn’t surprising when considering his performance at camp.

After having the strongest bounce-back year on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster, and maybe even the league last season, D.J. Chark Jr. will enter the 2020 season as one of the best-ascending receivers in football. Even with the Jags making three quarterback changes during the season, he was able to accumulate just over 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Based on how training camp has gone, Chark is the team’s best offensive player, which points to the third-year receiver being even better than he was in 2019. Our USA TODAY comrades over at The Huddle believe his numbers will see a slight increase in terms of targets, yards, and touchdowns, projecting him to acquire 80 catches for 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns.

Here is what they had to say about the third-year wide receiver who now has more help around him.

Chark caught 73 of 118 targets for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore while bouncing between QBs Gardner Minshew and Nick Foles. He was the No. 1 option for either quarterback whenever on the field, and he’ll again lead a pass-catching group that added Laviska Shenault Jr. in the 2020 NFL Draft and TE Tyler Eifert in free agency. Chark should be viewed as a high-upside WR3.

In addition to the pickups the Jags made for their passing game, it’s also worth noting they will also be playing under a new offensive coordinator in Jay Gruden. He seems to be a big fan of Chark, who has looked like the MVP of Jags training camp. In fact, just last week Gruden said it was hard to find a weakness in Chark’s game.

Not too soon after Gruden joined the Jags’ staff, he stated that he would look to play Chark from multiple receiving positions and that definitely should help his production. If rookie receivers Laviska Shenault and Collin Johnson can cause size mismatches for the Jags’ opponents like most feel they can, Chark definitely could hit the 1,100-yard mark, especially as the No. 1 weapon on the unit.

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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.

LSU in the NFL: Projecting D.J. Chark’s 2020 stats with the Jacksonville Jaguars

How could Chark fare as the team’s No. 1 wide receiver?

Ever since the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him in 2018, former LSU wide receiver D.J. Chark has been a spark to the team’s offense at wide receiver.

In 2019,  he caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns on 118 targets while averaging 13.8 yards per catch. His 73 touchdowns ranked 29th in the NFL among all receivers, and his eight touchdowns ranked tied for ninth in the entire league.

He was primarily the No. 2 receiver last year, but that could change in 2020. Former Jaguars wideout Marquis Lee signed with the New England Patriots during the offseason. The move puts Chark in a prime position to become the team’s top receiver.

With that said, how well could the former Tigers star fair as a No. 1 receiver this season in Jacksonville?

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Chark will be catching passes from second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who passed for 3,271 yards last season and started nine straight games for the Jaguars in 2019.

The former LSU wideout could make his claim as the top receiver in the AFC South this season, too.

Basing this projection off of last year’s stats, Chark can easily exceed the 1,000-yard mark again in 2020.

His touchdown numbers should increase as well assuming he becomes the primary target. With a solid quarterback entering his second year, Chark could go anywhere from 1,000-1,300 yards this season and 15-20 receiving touchdowns.

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He is expected to be one of the best players on the entire team this season. Better yet, Chark is one of the rising stars not only at his position in the NFL, but of all positional players in the league.

His numbers increased significantly from 2018 to 2019, and should increase even more this season.

It will be interesting to see how well Chark plays for the Jaguars and whether he can improve from last season as the team’s potential top target in the passing game.

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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.

D.J. Chark discusses becoming a leader and wanting to give Jags fans a winning product

With the Jags losing many of its leaders this offseason, D.J. Chark says he wants to step up and fill the voids left by former veterans.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ locker-room will look significantly different in terms of leaders in 2020. Playmakers like Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, Calais Campbell, Marcell Dareus, and Nick Foles are all now with other teams, which means a new group of young stars will now have to step up.

With a clear understanding of this, third-year receiver D.J. Chark has come into 2020 with a leader’s mindset after a phenomenal season where he was the first Jags pass-catcher since 2015 to register 1,000 yards and went to the Pro Bowl as a result. When looking at those accolades it’s obvious the talent is there, but Chark came into training camp wanting to also be a role model for the Jags’ extremely young team.

Chark also came into camp understanding that he’s a face for the franchise, which means he has to emphasize winning to his teammates.

“I feel like this city, this team, deserves something to look forward to,” Chark   said to the media on Friday. “That first starts with me as being a guy that’s trying to be there for my teammates, trying to get the right energy going. We are very young, so now I am kind of forced out of the shadows to speak a little more. At the end of the day, we just want to win, that’s what we are here for. Win, play football, and that’s really the mindset of talking to my teammates and learning this new playbook. There are no excuses once we get out there on gameday. We have to get it in now.”

This is certainly music to the ears of Jags fans who’ve only witnessed one winning season under Shad Khan (2017). At the same time, Chark’s mindset shouldn’t surprise many after he came from a Louisiana State Tigers program that had great success.

Alongside veteran Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook, and Keelan Cole, Chark will also be tasked with leading a receivers group that added two draft picks in Laviska Shenault Jr. and Collin Johnson. Of course, the group hasn’t had a problem with taking the young pair under their wings and Chark spoke highly of both Friday.

“After we got them [in the draft], I went to look at them [on film] a little bit, I was able to meet them this summer,” said Chark. “They were willing to come out here early and get some work in with me, the other receivers, the quarterbacks, and I was able to build a bond with them. They work hard, and they are great people as well. I think that is something that we need to continue to add to this team, just hard workers, people who want to come in and win games. One goal for me is to help those guys have a better rookie year than I did.”

It certainly would be huge for the offense if either rookie made a significant contribution as the offense had trouble scoring in 2019. As for Chark, it appears he’s ready to take another step himself and it wouldn’t be shocking if he bested his 2019 numbers with more familiarity with Gardner Minshew II.

ESPN lists Gardner Minshew as a fantasy sleeper

ESPN fantasy football guru Eric Karabell likes the growth Gardner Minshew showed as a rookie an believes he’ll take another step in 2020.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2019 season was one most fans would rather forget about, rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II provided a ray of hope for the 2020 season after aiding the team to all their wins. As a result, he’ll not only be one of the most anticipated players to watch by Jags fans, but one of the most anticipated to watch in the NFL.

There are some national pundits who also picked up on the rookies success last year and believe he has what it takes to make a bigger impact in 2020. ESPN Fantasy guru Eric Karabell is the latest to jump on the bandwagon as he listed Minshew amongst the top sleepers at the quarterback position.

Gardner Minshew, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Minshew is more than just a fine mustache. A surprising QB2 when active as a rookie, Minshew not only has plenty of tools to succeed and overcome pre-draft concerns as a passer, he emerged as an underrated thrower of the deep pass, and only four quarterbacks rushed for more yards last season. The Jaguars seemed a bit indifferent to building a contending team for 2020, and the quarterback competition is over with Nick Foles gone, so expect Minshew to throw and run to his heart’s content — and pile on enough fantasy points to matter.

Despite the Jags adding more on defense than offense this offseason, Minshew very well could step his game up. An X-factor that could help him do that is new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who had success with Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins in the early parts of their careers.

The Jags also will have a stronger receivers corps, though the key will be health with the group. They drafted big-target receivers in Laviska Shenault Jr. and Collin Johnson, who were stars on the collegiate level. They also added veteran tight end Tyler Eifert, who played under Gruden in Cincinnati and brings familiarity to the offense.

The Jags will also get a draft pick they were super high on back from the 2019 class in Josh Oliver, who ended up missing a majority of the season with a hamstring issue and a back injury that placed him on injured reserve. One of Minshew’s favorite targets, James O’Shaughnessy, will also be back off IR after sustaining an ACL tear in 2019.

Add the aforementioned names in with pro bowler D.J. Chark and veteran Chris Conley, and yes, Minshew could be very productive in 2020. Again, it will just come down to his pass-catchers staying healthy and his offensive line playing better than they did in 2019.