One of the reasons to be optimistic about the Jacksonville Jaguars this season is their strong receiving corps. They might play in a winnable division, just like they may have the right head coach for them in Liam Coen. However, the receiving corps is the one thing I am willing to plant a flag on and say the Jaguars will be far better than league average in that department. Of course, I have concerns.
Apart from rampant dysfunction that has become commonplace with the AFC South franchise, it is comments like these from Coen that have me quite down on him as a head coach. He may be brilliant calling plays, but being a franchise leader is a totally different animal. I am not sure he has it in him, to be honest. Why do I say this? Well, he is putting Dyami Brown on a pedestal he does not belong on.
Here is what Coen had to say about his new receiver coming over from Washington this offseason.
“You look at somebody that’s able to attack the field at all three levels. He can go down the field on the post, in the ‘go,’ in the pylons and be the top shelf, but also you can throw him a screen and he can go and do something with it. I can’t coach that. I can’t coach you to go and make three people miss after you’ve caught the ball. . . . That’s what he can do."
Coen continued in speaking to ESPN's Michael DiRocco about how Brown is going to be even better.
“Hopefully, he’ll be able to help us at all three levels. He’s hungry. He’s coming off a successful end of the year. He wants to continue to do that.”
He then finished by hyping up his scheme a bit in finding new ways to get his receivers the football.
“You didn’t really see him work the intermediate that much [in Washington], and I think over the course of this spring, Trevor [Lawrence] and him have gained a little bit of a chemistry on some of those intermediate in-breakers, curls, maybe ‘out’ cuts. Part of the selling point to have him come here was, ‘Man, we really want to continue to diversify your route tree and have you do more. You’re not just a screen, jet sweep, vertical threat.’”
While I do not claim to be an expert in the x's and o's department of football schematics, I know for a fact until the Jaguars can play a lick of defense, none of this will even matter. Being able to keep the opposing offense off the field is the best way to make sure the scoreboard reads in your favor. Yes, the receiving corps is the team's strength, but its lack of defensive prowess is the team's bottleneck.
Jacksonville is also about to find out something the Philadelphia Eagles learned quite well last year.
Dyami Brown is right on track to be the next Jahan Dotson in the NFL
Yes, there was another receiver of note who left the Washington Commanders recently. That would be their former first-round pick out of Penn State in Jahan Dotson. In two years with Washington, Dotson had a combined 1,041 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 29 games. In 17 games with the Super Bowl-winning Eagles, he had only 19 catches for 216 yards and no trips to pay dirt on the year.
Dotson's former teammate Brown spent his first four seasons out of North Carolina in Washington. He amassed 59 catches for 784 yards and four touchdowns over that span. While he did set career highs in receptions and yardage with 30 and 308 apiece, we have to remember he was never a focal point in any offense he was a part of in Washington. Why would it change now he is with the Jaguars?
We know that Trevor Lawrence is going to throw the ball a ton to Brian Thomas Jr., as well as first-round pick Travis Hunter. At best, Brown could maybe might be WR3 in this offense. Although Coen may love to sling the pigskin, he may learn fast that being a head coach is not the same as being an offensive coordinator. The entire team is your responsibility, not just drawing up plays on some tablet.
Until I see a more well-rounded team down in Duval, I am not going to push any Jacksonville agenda.