By Jordan Long
The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the most impressive wins in week 1 of the NFL season. They dominated the Houston Texans 29-7. In the victory their top receiver, Allen Robinson, suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. The injury occurred 3 plays into the game after Robinson caught a 17-yard pass from quarterback Blake Bortles and was tackled. He was unable to walk to the sideline, taken to the locker room, and didn’t return. According to washingtonpost.com, Bortles said, “It [stinks] for him and it [stinks] for us as a team. He’s our guy and everybody knows how good he is. I can’t really put into words how sad I am for him.” How will this injury impact the Jacksonville Jaguars for the rest of the year?
Robinson has been one of the best wide receivers for Jacksonville. Since he entered the league in 2014, he has become a favorite target of Blake Bortles. Bortles can trust him with the football because Robinson rarely drops the ball. His speed allows him to separate from the defensive backs to be open. Bortles will find him for large gains.
In his career, Robinson has a total of 2,848 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. His average yard per catch is an impressive 14.1. The Jaguars will miss his production.
With this injury, Marqiuse Lee becomes the number one wide receiver who is in his 4th NFL season. Lee isn’t as dangerous of a receiver as Robinson with 1,464 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. Bortles must throw the football to him. Lee has to be able to catch the football and make defenders miss for first downs. Failing to do so will not help the passing game. Bortles will also look for Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole to make plays in the open field. They must match the production that they are going to miss in Robinson.
Jacksonville knows this is a major loss. It’s next man up. They have depth at the wide receiver position but they need them to produce. If they happen to miss the playoffs, hopefully they won’t look back and realize that losing Robinson for the year was the turning point.
Which wide receiver do you think must step up with Allen Robinson out for the year?
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