D.J. Chark 2019 Outlook: Quiet Like a Jaguar
6 years ago14 receptions for 174 yards. That is a line from a great game. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a game. It was the rookie season of D.J. Chark in Jacksonville. Yes, some of this can be explained by his quarterback. But we cannot always blame Blake Bortles for the Jaguars failings on offense. As fun as that might be to do, the players around him also need to take the blame. At 6’4 Chark should be able to body up smaller defenders and come down with 50/50 balls but he didn’t. With Leonard Fournette skipping out on the team for half the season and backup Corey Grant placed on injured reserve the passing game needed to kick into gear. This didn’t happen either.
Nick Foles now enters the mix and if he is able to get something going there may be a receiver or two in Jacksonville to buy. Those receivers though are Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole and maybe Marqise Lee returning from injury. Notice the name I didn’t mention? Correct. Even if the offense improves to competent levels, Chark is still going to struggle with relevance. The defense is still elite, and the team still wants to run the ball most of the time. This means a second or third receiver will have a difficult time finding value. So, imagine trying to get value from a fourth receiver. Not a good proposition.
Let your drafts go by without drafting Chark. Westbrook should be the number one option for the team and if other fliers are needed Cole and Lee are still better options for you to choose from on a crowded but mediocre group.