Jaguars anticipating Marqise Lee's return will strengthen receiving corps

Editor’s note: This is a multi-part series previewing the Jaguars and their talent at each position before training camp opens on July 25. Today: The team’s wide receivers.

Marqise Lee has spent months rehabbing and watched his teammates carry on without him for the entire 2018 season.

He has been on the mend since the third preseason game last season when he suffered a torn left ACL after Atlanta Falcons safety Damontae Kazee hit him squarely in the knee while making a tackle.

Lee required surgery to repair both a torn ligament and a previously torn PCL.

Through it all, Lee has remained upbeat and determined, but it hasn’t been easy.

When the Jaguars open training camp July 25, Lee will still have to watch his teammates work instead of joining them.

While the Jaguars have high expectations for Lee to pick up where he left off as a top option on third-down passing plays, they are not going to rush him back on the field.

Lee is not expected to be a full participant until late in the preseason next month. The best-case scenario for the Jaguars is for Lee to be available by their Week 1 opener on Sept. 8 against Kansas City at TIAA Bank Field.

''The first thing we want to do is make sure we can get him back on the field,’’ Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. ''We know it’s something that’s going to be late in the preseason, that type of situation, maybe going 100 percent, full speed.’’

Throughout the offseason program, Lee was restricted to working on one of the side fields with a trainer.  On most days, Lee was seen sprinting without wearing a knee brace.

Lee said he’s ahead of schedule but agrees with the team’s plan to gradually bring him along until he’s fully healed.

''I’m still taking my time. I’m feeling great, running great, sprinting great,’’ Lee said. ''It’s a process – mental. That’s the main thing. Just staying into it, trying to go to meetings and make sure I’m staying in tune with the install and things like that, knowing I can’t be out there with the team or just out there helping a little bit.”

Lee is still waiting to get his first extensive on-the-field work with quarterback Nick Foles in the retooled offense installed by new coordinator John DeFilippo. Lee said he paid attention in offseason practices to watch Foles’ tendencies and worked at home catching passes from a jugs machine.

''Nick Foles is a great quarterback. I don’t think I have to get in too much rhythm, honestly,’’ Lee said. ''As far as putting the ball in the vicinity – which I know he can do – I’ll be fine.”

Lee remains the go-to source for younger players like Dede Westbrook, DJ Chark and Keelan Cole, who all consider him the leader of the wide receivers' room.

''You have to have a guy like that. He is my alpha dog in my room,” wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell said. ''I think he’s put his mind into coming back and being better than ever.’’

In 2017, Lee caught a team-high 56 passes for 702 yards and three touchdowns last season. Without him last season, the Jaguars ranked 31st in points (15.3) and 27th in total offense (302.0). Cole, who struggled with drops, didn’t perform up to the level he did as a rookie, and Clark, who was a second-round pick out of LSU, didn’t have a touchdown catch for the entire season.

The Jaguars expected Donte Moncrief to be an ascending player after he signed a one-year, $9.6 million contract in 2018. Moncrief, however, struggled to increase his productivity and ended up signing a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March.

The Jaguars ended up signing former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley to replace Moncrief. Conley and Foles were teammates in Kansas City in 2016 and have remained close friends. In the offseason program, Conley appeared to be Foles’ favorite target in 11-on-11 work.

Whether it continues remains to be seen, but Conley repeatedly turned routine plays in big gains in minicamp because of his route running and speed.

Westbrook is expected to be another big-play performer after catching a team-high 66 passes for 717 yards and five touchdowns in 2018.

The receivers were among the top performing position groups during the Jaguars’ offseason program. They rarely put the ball on the ground in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 work, but they will need to show the same effort in training camp and into the regular season.

McCardell doesn’t have any doubts they will.

''I’m really excited about the group because it’s a mixed bag for me because I got a little size,’’ MCardell said. ''I got small guys with great quickness, small guys that can make people miss, small guys that can play big. So I’m really excited about the group.’’