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When the weekend began, the Jacksonville Jaguars could count on Cecil Shorts III in the starting lineup at wide receiver, but who would be across from him was still up in the air. After Friday it's still up in the air, but the competition looks entirely different and more promising than it did before the 2014 NFL Draft.
Jags load up on offense
• Caldwell grabs Blake Bortles • Marqise Lee a Round 2 value
• Jags double up on WR with Allen Robinson
• Brandon Linder will compete at guard
• Jaguars have 5 picks remaining
"We had [Robinson] right behind Marqise Lee on our board," Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell said. "They were right there neck and neck and when it came down to it we never imagined we would go back to back receivers because we didn't think we'd have an opportunity to do it."
So how do they fit now in Jedd Fisch's offense? Who starts and who sees time in the slot?
"We'll see," Caldwell said. "We've got some time to figure it out."
Until then, the Jaguars can rest easy knowing they significantly improved the talent at wide receiver, adding a pair of players that had tremendous collegiate production before declaring for the 2014 NFL Draft after their true junior seasons. Unsurprisingly, their new head coach couldn't stop raving about the new combination that Fisch will have to work with.
"I love that they're both really competitive and great people," Gus Bradley said. "Marqise was the bell cow to the room there and that's what Allen was at Penn State. So to have two strong personalities like that come in it's going to add quite a bit to our room."
For Lee and Allen, the addition of UCF's Blake Bortles with the No. 3 overall selection and another top receiver pick to work with makes the prospect of joining the NFL's least productive offense a less daunting one.
"I can say that we have a pretty good group that was drafted this year," Allen said. "I'm coming in with these guys and we're going to push each other to be the best players that we can be."
The addition of top receivers is desperately needed for the Jaguars, as they haven't had a player eclipse 1,000 yards receiving since the retirement of Jimmy Smith. Shorts was the leading receiver for the Jaguars in each of the last two seasons, accumulating 979 yards in 2012 and 777 in 2013.