Jaguars wide receiver D.J. Chark will be the team’s number one wideout this season. In 2020, he led the Jaguars in receiving yards(706) and was tied with two others for the most touchdown receptions(5) on the team.
Chark, who was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2019, feels he’s getting better as he enters the 2021 season.
“I feel like I’m a talented player still getting better every year,” Chark said on Thursday. “I just go out there, when I’m on the field, try to be the best that I can. That’s kind of the mindset I’ve had for a few years now, just keep proving to myself that I can get better at these routes.”
The fourth-year receiver feels his job will be easier this year with WR Laviska Shenault Jr. and new additions in rookie QB Trevor Lawerence and wideout Marvin Jones Jr.
“I have some great teammates, great offense,” Chark said. “Trevor [Lawrence] can really throw it, so he’s going to make my job even easier than before. I have Marvin [Jones Jr.] on one side, Laviska [Shenault Jr.] in the slot, make my job easier, make me want to compete, make me want to go harder than they are.”
This summer, Chark missed the whole preseason because of a hand injury, but he expects to be ready by the season-opener. According to Chark, he’s playing faster due to coaching from head coach Urban Meyer and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal.
‘One of the things that they saw that they wanted me to get better at was releases and driving, playing fast really,” Chark said. “Those things help me play faster, and when I play faster, I feel unstoppable. When I’m not playing as fast, I feel like I’m not to my top ability. I’m not making the plays that I could be making, and I don’t like that myself. The main thing is playing with speed, vertical speed, getting down the field, which I’m pretty good at. I just have to continue to be consistent.”
Chark, 24, can be a free agent at season’s end, so this is a big year for him. However, his effectiveness could be based on the play of Lawrence. If Lawrence comes out blazing, Chark could put up some decent numbers. If not, his numbers could be affected, which could impact his ability to get a big contract with Jacksonville or elsewhere.
The Jacksonville Jaguars(1-3) are starting to become the team that many thought they would be when the season started. After beating the Colts in Week 1, the Jaguars have now lost three straight, including falling to the Cincinnati Bengals(1-2-1) on the road 33-25 on Sunday.
One of the reasons Jacksonville has lost three straight is the play of the defense. Coming into Sunday’s action, the Jaguars were surrendering 28 points a contest and allowed Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow to throw for 300 yards and allowed the Bengals to rush for over 200 yards, including 151 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground from Joe Mixon..
“I mean, I’m frustrated,” Jaguars DT Abry Jones said after the game. “I mean, that’s obvious. We all play this game to win. Like you said, I’ve been through this more than most, and I want something to change. Am I disappointed in guys? No, because I’m still rooting for everybody on this team, rooting for everybody on this defense. I know the type of players we have, and I know the type of talent they have, and I know how hard they work, so I’m never going to be disappointed in them. I’m just going to keep on encouraging them, keep having their back.”
With the losses mounting, Jaguars WR D.J. Chark, who had eight catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, wants the team to stay connected.
“The mood in the locker room is basically [that] we have to stick together and [ignore] the outside,” Chark said. “I know we get home and we look on Instagram, we look at Twitter and a lot of times we are the laughingstock because people love making jokes when they’re not in the fire with us. But at this point, it’s forget them. When I go out there and play, I’m playing for those 53, 56 guys [on the roster].
“I don’t care, I’m going to put my body on the line, and that’s just what we have to do, and I feel like that’s the feeling, and if it’s not, that’s what the feeling is going to be. We just have to go out there. I don’t care if we win every game moving on or don’t win every game moving on, we’re not going to quit, for sure, and that’s the mindset we have to have. Somebody’s going to have to feel us.”
The last two weeks against the Dolphins and Bengals were an excellent opportunity for Jacksonville to get wins. However, based on what we’ve seen in the past few weeks, Jacksonville could be who we thought they would be, but as Chark said, the team has to find a way to stay together.
While the Jacksonville Jaguars(1-1) lost on Sunday to the Titans(2-0) 33-30 in Nashville, there were many positives from this game, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
On Sunday, the Jaguars had 480 yards of total offense. Gardner Minshew threw for 339 yards with three touchdowns, but two costly interceptions. Rookie free agent RB James Robinson had his first 100-yard game(102 yards, 1 TD), and wide receiver D.J. Chark had four catches for 84 yards. Jacksonville started slow and battled hard in this game, and they were down 14-0 in the first quarter and 30-17 in the fourth quarter before tying the game at 30 midway through the final quarter.
The expectations are low for the Jaguars, but according to Chark, Jacksonville can compete with any team in the NFL.
“I think honestly we feel like we can go toe to toe with anybody. It doesn’t matter,” Chark said after the game. “Our offensive line is going to move people off the ball. James is going to run hard. Our receivers are all capable of making plays, and they understand that we expect plays to be made every time the ball is in the air. It’s our ball or nobody’s ball, and Gardner(Minshew) is out there making great decisions.
“I think it’s just the mentality that we have, whether it’s 30-17 or it’s a tie game. We understand that we only control what we can control when we’re out there on the field, and I think that helps the offensive line, but it also helps the defense to know that in years past, when we’d get down, it’s kind of like a snowball effect, but they know even if the team does score, we as an offense have the potential to go score, too. So you just go out there and keep playing like every drive is a new drive.”
Minshew added: “Yeah, I mean, you see their resilience when we’re in there. But we also learned that we’ve got to start faster. We don’t need to be getting down 13 in the first place. I think if we jump out and play every quarter like we played that fourth, we’re going to be a really, really good football team.”
It’s still early, but Jacksonville played two teams(Colts, Titans) that many believe could make the playoffs in 2020 and proved to everyone that they could compete. Obviously, there are no morals victories in the NFL, but Jacksonville has to be happy with how they performed after two games.
It’s always good when a quarterback and his number one receiver have a good relationship, which is the case in Jacksonville with Gardner Minshew and D.J. Chark. In 2019, Chark had a breakout season. The third-year wide receiver had 73 receptions for 1008 yards and eight touchdowns, all career-highs.
According to Chark, who made the Pro Bowl last season, he and Minshew are close on and off the field.
“Definitely. Minshew, that’s my dog on and off the field,” Chark recently said. “Last year, I didn’t expect him to be the quarterback Week 1. I played in the preseason with him. I am one of the only receivers that was actually out there in the preseason with him when he was battling those demons against the Ravens. But, I love Gardner [Minshew], like I said, that’s my dog. Any time I have a suggestion, he is willing to listen, he has a suggestion then I am willing to listen. He worked with me on my strengths and weaknesses, same. Very confident guy, and just a good guy to be around.”
Jacksonville has a new offensive coordinator in former Redskins head coach Jay Gruden. At this point, Chark loves Gruden’s offense, and he expects the team to do well on the offensive side of the ball in 2020.
“I think it is going to be a pretty good season for us offensively,” Chark said. “This offseason we have all been getting together, learning this offense together in this unprecedented time. It’s showing on the field; the chemistry is showing on the field. This is the most connected I have felt to the offense, and to the players on the offense, in a long time. So, with the addition of Coach [Jay] Gruden being a head coach, knowing how to get his guys ready, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his players, we are in good shape.”
The offense can be better in 2020. Last season, Jacksonville was 20th in total offense and 26th in points per game, so that has to improve. Jacksonville has a very good running back in Leonard Fournette. The wideouts are not bad with Chark, Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook, and they added rookies’ Laviska Shenault and Collin Johnson, but it’s all about how well Minshew grasps Gruden’s offense and how much he improves this season. If Minshew gets better, the offense probably gets better, which means the team will probably be better in 2020.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver D.J. Chark is having a breakout season. In 10 games, the second-year receiver has 51 receptions for 796 yards and eight touchdowns. Chark’s eight touchdown receptions are tied with Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. for the most in the NFL.
While Jacksonville has had some struggles this season, the second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has been one of the bright spots for the Jaguars in 2019.
“He just keeps getting better,” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said about Chark on Wednesday. “He’s wherever he is in receptions and yardage, and he has eight touchdowns for us this year, so he’s really playing really well. He’s big; he’s strong, he’s fast. He can get the contested balls; he can catch the ball over the middle, run, score. So, he’s doing a lot of things very well.”
According to Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles, Chark has a shot at the Pro Bowl.
“You have to think, you know, his statistics and how he’s played, he’s among the best in the league right now,” Foles said on Wednesday. “We obviously have to, as a team, finish this year strong, but he’s heading towards being deserving of that nod.”
Chark most definitely has a shot at the Pro Bowl, especially if he continues to put up the numbers. Foles has thrown three touchdown passes this season, which have all went to Chark, so these two might be building something, which could lead to Chark having more success in 2019.
