Jacksonville Jaguars: OC calls out WR Marqise Lee
The Jacksonville Jaguars could have a pretty nice young group of wide receivers if not for some who were continually absent, including young Marqise Lee, the former USC Trojans superstar.
Lee caught just 37 passes as a rookie with one touchdown, and now his offensive coordinator is throwing some serious shade his way. He may have also given him the greatest nickname in the process.
“To me he’s like the albino tiger at the zoo,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “If you get there and you’re lucky enough to get him to come out of the cave and see him, it’s a good day. I’ve only seen him three times since I’ve been here and those three days he was very impressive, but he’s only been out there three days.
“We’re hoping that we can get him healthy and see a little bit more of him.”
I had a good laugh at that comparison, but Olson has a point. As the great Rod Smith of the Denver Broncos used to say, you can’t make the club if you’re always in the tub.
The Jaguars are moving along right now as though Lee won’t be available for the season opener, and right now, his injuries are causing him to miss a significant time of development with young QB Blaine Gabbert. The Jaguars are also without injury-prone tight end Julius Thomas, so their offensive weaponry could see a major shift early on in the season if/when those two guys come back.
If they were to come back at full strength, it would be fantastic for Jacksonville, which seriously lacks in the offensive firepower department. Lee is an explosive playmaker but we have yet to really see that as an NFL player. After battling injuries and playing in 13 games his rookie season, this isn’t the best reputation he’s building up.
The Jaguars are publicly calling him out. We’ll see if the Albino Tiger will make a more prominent presence this season than last. Right now, it’s not looking good.