The Jacksonville Jaguars are confident enough in Brenton Strange that they released Evan Engram to pave the way to the starting lineup for him. Earlier this year, he said that he's ready to be TE1, and Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports believes that he's up to the challenge.
Sullivan put together a list of AFC South under-the-radar stars who could make an impact in 2025 and picked Strange for Jacksonville, pointing out that the third-year tight end should thrive in Liam Coen's scheme.
"Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr. are the main pillars of Jacksonville's offense. However, I think Strange is on the verge of a breakout season," Sullivan wrote. "This offseason, Jacksonville released Evan Engram, who averaged 102 targets per season with the franchise."
Sullivan continued, "Now, Strange is set to adopt the bulk of those looks from Trevor Lawrence and will play in an offense led by first-year coach Liam Coen. Last year, Coen was the OC for the Buccaneers and helped Cade Otton emerge as one of the better tight ends in the league. Could Strange be the latest to emerge under Coen?"
A second-round pick in 2023, Strange was a non-factor as a rookie but proved that he was ready to step into a starting role when he filled in for Engram last season, registering 40 receptions for 411 yards with two touchdowns.
With Engram out of the picture, the former Penn State Nittany Lion is in a position to put up better numbers. That said, don't expect him to post massive numbers. Sure, he'll be the starting tight end moving forward but will see considerable playing time as a blocker, so he may not get nearly as many targets as Engram did in his first two years in Jacksonville (98 and 143 in 2022 and 2023, respectively).
And while it's true that Cade Otton registered career numbers under Coen, that was because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dealt with injuries at wide receiver and leaned on him. With Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, and Dyami Brown in the fold, it's hard to see Strange posting more than 50-60 catches next year. Then again, that would still be an increase.
Brenton Strange is putting in the work to reward the Jaguars' trust
Brenton Strange isn't just talk. He's putting his money where he's mouth is and is putting in the work to validate the team's trust. During mandatory minicamp, he told the local media that he doesn't take the team's trust for granted.
"Most definitely," Engram responded when he was asked if the Jags showed their confidence when they released Evan Engram. "Yeah, I think that they told me, and they told me that they have confidence in me, but like I said, I'm just going to come out here every single day and put one foot in front of the other and let my work pay off for itself."
During the exchange, Strange also said that he's been working on specific parts of his game that needed refinement.
"Mostly, it was route-running things like getting in and out of my getting in and out of my cuts, and just being more efficient running. And I definitely did that. I spent a lot of time this offseason working and working really hard to work out today," Strange said when he was reminded that he wanted to work on some things during the offseason.
Brenton Strange may ultimately not post monster numbers next season, but that doesn't mean he won't make a huge impact for the Jaguars.
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