Jacksonville Jaguars: Looking at Greg Jennings interest

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been involved in rumors relating to veteran wide receivers for a better part of the free-agent period, and today Pro Football Talk is reporting that former Minnesota Vikings No. 1 receiver Greg Jennings is in town for a visit. Jennings has received interest from other WR-needy teams in the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers, and while both destinations seem like solid landing spots, Jennings hasn’t been able to find a deal to this point.

Based on how slowly things have materialized, you can’t help but wonder if the top two wideouts left on the open market, Jennings and Michael Crabtree, are destined to wait for a gig until after the draft when everything truly starts to take shape.

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Both wideouts are good enough to earn a job somewhere and could be ideal No. 3 options, so it seems like neither teams nor the players themselves, as evidenced by Crabtree rejecting an offer from the Dolphins, are interested in getting something done quickly.

Jennings was the veteran in the Vikings wide receiver corps last season, and he started to produce at a decent clip near the end of the season when rookie Teddy Bridgewater started to hit his stride. After catching 68 passes for 804 yards under a quarterback carousel in his first season with the team, Jennings moved the chains with 59 catches for 742 yards last year. The numbers are worse, but he was also more efficient.

Despite the fact that he is 31 and is mildly declining as a receiver, Jennings can still help a team out. It seems like the Jaguars are interested in bringing a veteran mentor on board, especially since they can trust his ability to get open. While Jennings isn’t a top-two receiver anymore, he can be depended on to produce, and he can also play the slot, which is something the Jaguars seem to be interested in.

Cecil Shorts was the Jaguars de facto old man on a wide receiver corps that included three rookies in Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee, and Allen Hurns. Of course, while Shorts, who is well under 30, was the antithesis of consistent in his final season in Jacksonville, Jennings is a guy who can put up a catch rate near 65% and could hit 70 receptions if given the opportunity.

That 70-catch opportunity won’t come anywhere, and the Jaguars wouldn’t be the exception. Robinson is one of the most interesting young receivers in the game, as he looked far less raw than expected in his first season. Meanwhile, Lee is a boom-or-bust playmaker who could be a huge weapon in the Jaguars offense, Hurns has talent and is someone the Jaguars organization seems to love, and big-name tight end Julius Thomas could realistically lead the team in targets.

At best, Jennings would be third in the pecking order, and he would most likely find himself as the No. 3 receiver in front of either Hurns or Lee. Jennings could slot in as part of a wide-open competition, but he would have a place in the team, even if the Jaguars should be able to avoid paying him anything notable on a one-year pact. His experience and ability to play inside or outside can help him, and he isn’t as limited in his ability to move downfield as some think after averaging 12.6 yards per reception last season.

Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings (15) catches a pass in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings win 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

As always, everything comes down to cost, and this is even true for a veteran wideout who will come cheap anyway. Even though the Jacksonville Jaguars appear to be doing everything possible to make Blake Bortles comfortable in his second season after he predictably took some lumps behind a rebuilding line and a young WR corps.

The Jaguars wideouts have an awful lot of potential, but signing Jennings would be a safeguard in case their second-year trio doesn’t take as many steps forward as they are hoping for.

If Greg Jennings is as affordable as we expect him to be, then he could make sense as a No. 3 or 4 option in the offense and something of a possession-type safety blanket for Bortles.

That said, the Jaguars do have a young, talented nucleus of receivers, and adding Jennings would take targets away from more explosive, high-upside players who could be true building blocks on offense for this organization.

It’s a tough call, but it definitely makes sense for the Jaguars to take a close look at Jennings in a workout and see what he has in himself.

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