Mike Pettine says Cecil Shorts is one of the most underrated WRs

Jacksonville Jaguars star wide receiver Cecil Shorts missed an awful lot of time this season with a nagging hamstring injury, bringing up some more questions regarding his durability. But any questions about Shorts’s ability to be the team’s No. 1 receiver ahead of rising talents like Allen Robinson were quelled on Sunday, as he absolutely tore up the Tennessee Titans in the Jaguars near-comeback. Shorts was fed copious targets from rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, confirming his status as the team’s top dog upon his return from the injury. Shorts finished with ten receptions for 103 yards, looking like the receiver who hauled in 66 passes in 13 games last season (he averaged 69.9 and 59.8 in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, respectively).

The Jaguars will take on the Cleveland Browns this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, and Browns head coach Mike Pettine certainly isn’t sleeping on Shorts, who is just 26 but technically the “old man” of the Jags wide receiver corps. According to the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram’s Scott Petrak, Pettine stated that Shorts is one of the NFL’s most underrated wide receivers.

It’s high praise indeed, but typical of the praise sent back-and-forth as mutual respect between opponents. That said, the praise rings true, and it will be interesting to see if Shorts can have a follow-up performance against the elite Joe Haden. Shorts, by the way, is averaging over 50 receiving yards per game again, and his 54.8 average should climb higher as the season progresses, assuming he can stay somewhat healthy.