The Jacksonville Jaguars are breaking in a new-look wide receiver group this season, and through the first two weeks, it’s looked like it.
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley — now carving out a role with the Tennessee Titans after leaving in free agency — and tight end Evan Engram — a surprise scratch Sunday during pregame warmups — accounted for 46 percent of Jacksonville’s targets in 2023. Outside of those two outliers, Christian Kirk represents quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s most familiar pass-catcher (not named Travis Etienne), averaging 7.5 targets per game over his two full seasons with the Jaguars.
Jacksonville’s brutally slow start on offense through two games begs the question: What happened to Kirk’s usual high-volume role?
Through two games this season — both frustrating losses to the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns — Kirk has been invisible as Lawrence works to build a rapport with veteran newcomer Gabe Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. The Jaguars are struggling to sustain drives, averaging 52.5 offensive plays per game, which is tied for fifth-lowest in the NFL. With Engram on the shelf, Lawrence is in desperate need of a security blanket in the passing game, and Kirk represents the most logical option.
To say the seventh-year pro is struggling would be a massive understatement. He’s been targeted just seven total times through two games, well below his average with Lawrence under center. He was a non-factor in Sunday’s 18-13 loss to the Browns, playing 85 percent of the team’s offensive snaps but managing just one catch on three targets for negative-1 yard.
“He's one of our best players," Lawrence said post-game. "We've got to keep him involved. I'm not putting that on anyone in particular. There were opportunities for him to get the ball today where maybe I didn't get to him quick enough… but we have to continue to give him the opportunities to make plays, because we've all seen how good he is."
Kirk lined up in his bread-and-butter position — the slot — on 32 of his 37 pass snaps Sunday, per PFF, but failed to make any kind of impact. He was PFF’s lowest-graded Jaguars wide receiver, outside of Parker Washington, with a 55.7 receiving grade and a 56.8 overall. Meanwhile, Lawrence was pressured 12 times and took three sacks — one in his own end zone — against the Browns’ elite pass rush. He sure could have used one his favorite go-to targets, but the connection was mysteriously not there.
It’s possible that Kirk isn’t 100 percent healthy, a common theme already for this young Jaguars season. He missed the final five games of 2023 after undergoing core muscle surgery, and he was held back a bit in training camp for what head coach Doug Perderson called a “mild calf injury.”
PFF’s highest graded receivers for Jacksonville on Sunday were a running back (Etienne) and a pair of backup tight ends in Brenton Strange and Luke Farrell. Unless Thomas Jr. can develop into Ridley overnight, or Davis suddenly regains the elite form he flashed during the 2021 NFL playoffs with the Buffalo Bills, the Jaguars are going to need more production from seasoned players like Kirk if they’re going to salvage this season.
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