Why Keeping Keelan Cole Should Be an Offseason Priority for the Jaguars

Keelan Cole has been one of Jacksonville's best players this season after years of waiting for his chance. Now, the Jaguars should repay that patience.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Keelan Cole has been waiting patiently for the opportunities he is seeing in 2020. Through nine games, that patience has paid off for both Cole and the Jaguars. 

More than halfway through his fourth season with the Jaguars, Cole is on pace to have his best season yet -- as well as his most involved one. Both on special teams and on offense, his role has at last expanded. And so far, he has done enough in his new role to make himself a player the Jaguars should make a priority to keep past 2020.

“It feels good to know that your turn was going to come eventually and know that you prepped yourself for this time," Cole said after last Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers. 

"[I’m] just glad that it didn’t come to waste. It’s easy to go hard and everything just not go your way, but it’s good that everything is falling into place and I’m making the best of my opportunities and the coaches trust me to do that.”

Cole had a career-high of snaps in 2017 when he played 67% of the offensive snaps and he then played 66% of the snaps in 2018. But so far in 2020, he has played 74% of the offensive snaps this season and is on track to shatter his previous career-high in receptions per game. 

Cole stepping up as the team's starting slot receiver is a stark contrast from 2019, where he served as a backup to Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley. Cole played just 34% of the snaps in former offensive coordinator John DeFilippo's scheme, catching 24 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns -- career lows in reception and receiving yards. 

While Cole's numbers for 2020 aren't eye-popping (34 receptions for 427 yards and four touchdowns), they are respectable for a slot receiver in a so-so passing offense. He has flashed enough to the point where one could project him to be a significant contributor in a better situation on offense. 

“I think I can say a lot. I think being here the whole time with him, there were flashes early on," head coach Doug Marrone said about Cole on Monday.

"He’s kind of involved some then he’s not then he makes a great catch. I don’t want to say it’s inconsistency because at times we haven’t be able to get him the ball, I’m talking about over the course of the years, but he continues to give great effort all the time."

As of today, three of Jacksonville's top six receivers are in the final years of their contracts: Cole, Conley and Westbrook. If basing a decision on which receiver to keep just off this season alone, Cole is a clear choice. Jacksonville is currently in no position to let ascending 27-year-old receivers walk, especially not in an offseason where they will likely acquire a new quarterback. 

Jacksonville is set to have over $100 million in available cap space in 2021, which represents the financial freedom the Jaguars have moving forward. Realistically, they could afford to pay Cole at market value or even above it. A contract similar to Robby Anderson's (two years, $20 million overall with $12 million guaranteed) isn't unreasonable if projecting Cole to continue improving moving forward. 

It helps he is fresh off a performance that landed him in franchise history, returning a punt for a touchdown and then catching a touchdown against Green Bay in Week 10. Cole became the first Jaguars player to ever accomplish those two feats in the same game, a sign of the value he brings today, and the value he has always had the potential to offer on Sundays.

But it should be noted that while Cole has always had potential, this is the year he has truly put it all together. A big part of that is the fact he has been given more chances, but Cole has also erased some of the inconsistencies that defined his first two years in the league.

"I think this year’s probably the most consistent that he’s played, meaning that even though it might not be through the progression or we might not be able to get to him because of protection, whatever it may be, but when you look on the field, he’s winning a lot," Marrone said. "He’s getting himself open and putting himself in position."

"But he’s been playing very, very consistent and he’s playing the best he’s played since he’s been here. I know the stats probably back that up, but I think if we’re able to get him the ball a little bit more during the year and things like that, I think it’d be even better."

Aside from Cole's expanded role and improvement on the offense, he has also proven to be a special teams ace. The Jaguars have failed to produce many big plays on special teams over the last several years, but Cole's 91-yard punt return touchdown against the Packers demonstrated the type of return ability he has when asked to return kicks or punts. 

"Then, I can’t say enough about the special teams stuff. Every time he’s called on to go in there and do something, he makes something happen, whether it’s a kickoff return, which he’s done before for us in the past, or it’s a punt return like he did [Sunday]," Marrone said.  

"He’s always up for anything. He always has a good attitude. He likes to play. He likes to be on the field. He likes to practice. He’s really come a long way and I think he’ll continue to get better; I really do. I think he can do a lot of different things, so I think he has value.”

Where Cole will play in 2021 is yet to be determined. He will clearly play somewhere, whether with the Jaguars or with one of the other 31 NFL squads. He has proven this year, and in parts of the previous three years, that he is worth an investment to improve an offense. 

For the Jaguars, the gifted fourth-year receiver should be a priority to retain past 2020. They need to keep all of the talented and ascending players they can, especially in a year in which they will likely have to build a supporting cast for a young quarterback.