Laviska Shenault Jr. had his best game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals in Thursday Night Football last week, reeling in six catches for 99 yards. After that performance, many expected that he would see a larger role in the passing game moving forward, especially with D.J. Chark Jr. likely to miss the remainder of the season.
That wasn’t the case against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, though. In a 37-19 loss, Shenault was targeted just three times, and he only recorded one catch. That catch was a big play that went for 58 yards, but it was late in the game. Jacksonville certainly could have benefitted from involving him earlier.
On Monday, coach Urban Meyer said that the team hoped to get him the ball more but it didn’t work out that way, according to Meyer, who spoke with the media on Monday.
“What we did was when we lost [DJ] Chark [Jr.], he had to go to play outside as well, but he was point of attack many times, It just didn’t get him the ball,” he said. “That’s something we have to make sure he gets the ball because you saw the one that he had. He’s dynamic and he’s arguably our best playmaker right now.”
This offense is clearly at its best when Shenault is involved, and while he hasn’t been as popular a target for Lawrence as Marvin Jones Jr. this season, the Jags need him to take up a more prominent role in the offense now.
He’s one of the best playmakers on this roster, and Meyer and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell need to find a way to get him more than three targets moving forward. With the Miami Dolphins ranking 26th against the pass and allowing an average of 288.6 passing yards per game, maybe Sunday’s game will come with better results for the second-year receiver.