JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars impending trade of Julius Thomas to the Miami Dolphins leaves a significant hole at tight end for 2017.
The Jaguars don’t have anyone at that position who can stretch the field, create mismatches, or be a regular part of the passing game.
Marcedes Lewis is expected to return for his 12th season, but at this point in his career he’s mainly a blocker (he hasn’t caught more than 25 passes in a season since 2012). Third-year players Neal Sterling and Ben Koyack, who combined to catch 22 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown with Thomas out of the lineup for the final six games in 2016, appear to be role players at this point.
As disappointing as Thomas’ production was – due to injuries, erratic play by quarterback Blake Bortles, and the inefficient way the Jaguars used him – he at least was someone opposing defenses had to worry about. The Jaguars are going to have to find someone who can fill that role, either in free agency or the draft.
Free agency
The best tight end expected to be available is Martellus Bennett, whose market value according to Spotrac is expected to be $6 million annually. He filled in capably for Rob Gronkowski in the second half of the season to help New England win the Super Bowl. He’s 30 years old so he’s toward the end of his career, but he is still playing at a high level. However, with the Jaguars expected to pursue several high-priced free agents along the offensive and defensive lines they may not want to invest this much in a tight end.
Jared Cook, Jermaine Gresham and Jack Doyle are lower-priced players under 30 whom the Jaguars could target. Cook probably will be in the highest demand out of that group and could command an annually salary of around $3.5 million, according to Spotrac’s market value.
Draft
The Jaguars have too many needs – offensive line, pass rusher, safety, linebacker – to address tight end early in the draft, so they might not do so until Day 3, meaning they won’t get a shot at O.J. Howard (Alabama), David Njoku (Miami), Evan Engram (Ole Miss), Bucky Hodges (Virginia Tech), Gerald Everett (South Alabama) or Jake Butt (Michigan). They are generally regarded as the top tight ends available.
Adam Shaheen from Ashland University is a player who has gotten some momentum of late as draft analysts study more tape and report being impressed with the Division II player. He is now being rated as a Day 2 selection so he may not be an option for the Jaguars, either.
One player the Jaguars have shown interest in is Washington’s Darrell Daniels. He doesn’t have as much of a resume as the top tight ends, but he does have a good mix of size (6-feet-4, 258 pounds) and speed (he ran a 4.4 at Washington). He was productive when he did catch the ball, averaging 15.5 yards per catch (47 catches, 728 yards, five TDs in his career).
Daniels is hoping his results at the combine will help raise his stock. He’s hoping to run a sub-4.4, even though he admits it’s an "outrageous goal."
Daniels started his career at Washington as a receiver but was moved to tight end midway through his freshman season. He resisted at first but quickly embraced it when he saw he had more opportunities to make plays.
"I went out there and started to compete against linebackers and safeties and I figured out I was way faster than those guys," he said.
Daniels said he knows his numbers don’t stack up to those of some of the other tight ends, but he said he has improved his blocking skills and believes he’s a complete tight end.
The Jaguars need to find a way to replace Thomas, and Daniels is one of the options the team can consider if they choose to do it via the draft.