Christian Kirk Has Been A Huge Part Of The Jaguars Early Success
Own up to the contract takes (I will too).
Back in the offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars were in the midst of great change. A competent head coach in Doug Pederson was hired, and GM Trent Baalke got to work loading up the roster. Foley Fatukasi and Foye Oluokun were two big signings on defense. Brandon Scherff was signed to help out a subpar offensive line.
The Jaguars also made important additions to the wide receiver room, signing former Cardinals WR Christian Kirk to a massive four-year deal worth $72 million with $37 million guaranteed. That signing put a major bump on the receiving market, as the 2019 WR class got major deals, and a few superstars got traded.
The initial reaction to the Kirk deal was very negative. Many believed Kirk wasn’t worth the AAV of the deal, and that the Jaguars were sticking to their regular script of making big (over)spending sprees in free agency that don’t pan out.
Instead Christian Kirk (and his teammate Zay Jones, who we may discuss in a later post) have been crucial to the early success of the Jacksonville Jaguars on offense, and have been a springboard for second year quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Kirk’s Impact
What a change it’s been through just three weeks. Lawrence has players who will catch the football, insanity. Anyways, Kirk has been moved around quite a bit in the offense. When the Jaguars get into “11” personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR), Kirk operates a lot in the slot (76.9% of the time per PFF). Jacksonville trusts Kirk to win with his quick twitch and efficient route breaks.
With Pederson putting emphasis on levels concepts to create some vertical conflict for linebackers, Kirk does a good job with deep dig routes, getting correct depth and following that up with strong pacing to reach the window when Lawrence is ready to unload. Even when tasked to do this against man coverage, Kirk stays tough fighting through contact and has impressive route technique on dig routes, leaning into defenders before snapping his route off at the top of his stem.
He helps in the quick passing game as well with his understanding of spacing and where to attack against zone. He’s also been given the chance to show off the straight line speed and explosiveness on deep routes, and has been reliable making that play when the throw from Lawrence is on target.
Let’s not forget about the aforementioned explosiveness after the catch. Kirk takes advantage when given room, and has averaged 6.2 yards after the catch per reception thus far.
Advantageous Matchups
As mentioned above, Kirk has been in the slot at a very high clip for the Jaguars thus far, and that can give him advantageous matchups. There have been a few reps where Kirk is in the slot and lined up against a linebacker, whether it be true man coverage or said linebacker is operating in a hook/curl zone. On two separate occasions, once against Jamin Davis(WSH) and once against the Colts, Kirk has set up linebackers with a hook route, and the sales pitch is very good. Instead, Kirk breaks out the “jerk” route, which is decelerating into that hook/hitch/curl, and immediately accelerating over the middle of the field to take advantage of the advantage in twitch and explosiveness.
The Jaguars also got Kirk in a great spot to score against the Colts in week two, motioning him into the backfield. They ran a go and crosser to move defenders in a match defense, and Kirk ran a trailing angle route into open space, picking up a couple yards after contact, and finishing in the end zone with a score.
Kirk’s other touchdown in the game came out of a tight look, and Kirk ran a “sneak” route, essentially where a TE or tight-aligned WR runs behind the offensive line to the play side flat, creating a levels strain on defenders. Lawrence rolled out of the pocket, something common with a route concept like this, and Kirk kept his momentum going to the front pylon, creating an easy throw for Lawrence.
Blocking Effort
Something we’ve seen more in recent years, especially in the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay tree, is wide receivers acting as pseudo-tight ends, helping out the run game even in “11” personnel. While Kirk isn’t at the level of Cooper Kupp as a run blocker, or even Allen Lazard in Green Bay, Kirk certainly does his best to help out, whether it be getting to the second or third level to occupy space, or acting as the “crack” block on the line of scrimmage. He may not be putting his entire body into it, neither does he have great technique, but he’s doing his job well enough to create some running lanes.
A Bright Outlook
Christian Kirk has clearly become one of the (if not the) focal points of the Jaguars passing attack. His reliability when targeted (0% percent drop rate, 133.2 passer rating when targeted) is evident, and while he’s getting the majority of his targets in the quick game (9.7 aDOT), he’s taking advantage after the catch. There will be times where he is the deep threat on a concept, but it’s clear that Kirk needs to be one of the chain movers in this passing attack with a shot play mixed in.
While the contract may turn out to be an overpay long-term, it was essential to get Trevor Lawrence reliable weapons in the passing game in year two. The Jacksonville Jaguars have done just that, and the addition of Kirk should continue to elevate this offense as the Jaguars look to contend in the AFC South in 2022.