Jaguar Report

Can the Trio From Detroit Become a Perfect Fit for the Jaguars?

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator and that move brought them Marvin Jones Jr. and Jamal Agnew in free agency. Can the trio previously with the Detroit Lions become a perfect fit in Jacksonville? They believe so.

Kassidy Hill

For the past month, Urban Meyer has been preaching familiarity. The Jacksonville Jaguars head coach knows he’s working to build a team in the midst of a strange offseason. He and his staff are unable to meet with guys in person or work them out in private. Signings are based on film and gut instincts.

Yet…if there’s history with a player, coaches have an entire extra level of research on which to base a signing. 

Such was the case with two players signed in an area of need: former Detroit Lions receivers Marvin Jones Jr. and Jamal Agnew. Both played under former Lions offensive coordinator and interim head coach, Darrel Bevell, who is now the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars.

While Bevell was able to stump for both guys in the Jaguars office, as free agents they also had to agree to the deal. That wasn’t an issue for Jones or Agnew when given the opportunity to play under Bevell again.

“I’m very comfortable with Bevell’s offense,” Agnew told reporters earlier this week. “That was one of the main reasons why I chose Jacksonville was because I got to pick up where I left off with Bevell because I felt like I was just getting started.”

Agnew started his football career on defense and in fact has only spent one season on the other side of the ball. He was drafted by Detroit in 2017 as a corner and return specialist and spent the first four years in the NFL primarily as a special teams star. He has five touchdowns in four years as a return specialist.

He finished with 13 receptions for 89 yards and six carries for 33 yards in his first season working exclusively on offense as opposed to corner. Agnew credits the transition to Bevell.

“He’s energetic, he’s playful, he’s going to joke around with you, but when it’s time to get to work, he’s all business. We had a fun atmosphere [in Detroit] and I’m just happy to get back to that…I felt like I was just getting started last year, so I’m excited to pick up where I left off.”

As the Jags worked to sign players with whom the coaching staff was already familiar, another positive of the practice arose; players who are also familiar with each other. For as much as Bevell was a draw to Jacksonville for Agnew, so was Marvin Jones Jr. The trio all being in Jacksonville together offered a synergetic and mutually advantageous dynamic.

Explained Agnew, “I definitely do think I have a good grasp on this offense. I had great leaders back in Detroit like Marvin [Jones Jr.], also like Danny Amendola, we had Kenny Golladay, but they kind of showed me the ropes. They taught me the ins and outs of Darrell Bevell’s offense and, like I said, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

“So, now I’m very comfortable for some of the younger guys to lean on me. I feel like I have a really good grasp of the offense, but I’m excited for this opportunity to work with a young quarterback. Especially to work with Marvin again, he’s a great player, even better person off the field. He’s a great father, he’s just a great role model and I was so grateful to learn from him these past four years.

“[Bevell’s] creative. He knows how to get the ball to certain players, and he’s not scared to take shots down the field. You see over Marvin [Jones Jr.]’s career, he’s been a big-play threat wherever he’s been, whoever he’s played with and he showcased that these past few years with Bevell. He had two great seasons in Bevell’s offense and I’m looking forward to getting to that level one day.”

Jones, the baby-faced veteran, has developed a reputation as one of the league’s most underrated weapons. He finished the 2020 season tied for eighth-most touchdowns in the league (9) and has only finished with less than 700 yards in two seasons: his rookie year and 2018, when he missed the last six games with a knee injury.

The Cal Golden Bears alum brings the veteran experience and serves as the example the coaching staff will need for a relatively young unit. No one knows that more than Agnew.

“You’re going to get a great receiver, even better person. I’m going to reiterate that because off the field, Marvin [Jones Jr.] does a lot and just seeing the type of father he is and the type of person he is, Jacksonville has a good one. Like I said, I’m grateful to be able to learn from him again.

“I learned a lot from him these past few years and I’m really excited to get to learn from him [again]. But they’re going to get one of the best receivers in the league because I don’t care how old Marvin is, he’s still playing at a high level right now. So, I’m excited to get back to work with him, for real.”

The feeling is mutual for Jones. He’s spent the past season helping Agnew become acclimated to the wide receiver corps and has seen a foundation that could build big things still to come.

“The guy is dynamic,” says Jones of Agnew.

“He’s one of the best return men that I’ve seen, but people don’t understand how smart this guy is. You’re talking about a guy who was on defense and made a change and seamlessly fit into our offense and what we had to do and provided us a big spark. So, you’re going to get a guy that’s going to come, and he has home run ability. As he progresses as a receiver as well, you’re going to see some big plays and that’s the reason why he’s here. I’m glad to have been with him and now we continue, so it’s going to be fun.”

Jones is the old head in yet another locker room now in Jacksonville. At 31-years old, he’s by far the most experienced guy in the unit and has already promised his new teammates he’ll work that to their benefit.

“I just met everybody, met the young receivers and they didn’t know I was 31. They were like, ‘Man, you look like us.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah. I’ll show you the way. I’ll show you how to get there.’ I’m here, I’m here to be that mentor and for them to follow me. I love that and I love that type of pressure.”

At the end of the day though, like Agnew, it was Bevell who was the ultimate draw down south for the receiver. The 51-year old coordinator is largely credited with grooming Russell Wilson into a perennial MVP candidate in Seattle. And in his 14 years in the NFL, his offenses combine to rank in the top 50th percentile in every major category save passing attempts.

Under Bevell, Jones—who has always been on the field for 93% or more of passing snaps on each team he’s played with— saw his biggest diversification of snaps since entering the league. He took 209 snaps in the slot, 453 out wide and five inline according to Pro Football Focus. But it’s more than the versatility that draws Jones to Bevell’s offense.

“I think just the camaraderie that we have with each other and just the leader that he is. Obviously, his offense kind of speaks for itself with the success that he’s had since he’s been in the league, and it’s just a fun offense.

“It’s a fun offense where I can go inside, go outside, do a lot of the things that I didn’t do before having his offense. So, it’s a lot of stuff that you can do, and I think it fits perfect for me.”

Can the perfect fit for two receivers with this offense translate to a perfect fit for the Jaguars? The trio from Detroit believes it’s a distinct possibility. 

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Kassidy Hill
KASSIDY HILL

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