How much does Brenton Strange really matter to the Jaguars’ offense?
There’s a pretty noticeable correlation to the fall in offensive success and the injury to Jaguars’ tight end Brenton Strange.
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the position throughout the offseason and questions about just how well Brenton Strange could fill the role as the team’s starting tight end.
Well, answers were provided very early on this season. Prior to injury, Strange had been Trevor Lawrence’s most consistent receiver, leading the team in receptions and yards after four weeks.
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He also happens to have the lowest drop rate on the team, which matters a lot more than one would hope it did. His 4.8% drop rate dwarves the drop rates of the Jaguars other top targets in Brian Thomas Jr (18.2%), Parker Washington (19.0%), and Dyami Brown (15.8%).
There’s a lot more to Strange’s game than just raw numbers though. Strange ranks fourth among TEs with 0.54 EPA gained per target, catching 20 of his 24 targets. His 5.3 yards after the catch leads all Jaguars WRs and TEs and his six missed tackles forced is second on the team behind Travis Hunter.
Despite time lost to injury, those six missed tackles forced still rank top-5 at the position. With as much issue as the Jaguars have had finding consistency through the air, the loss of Strange has been detrimental to this offense.
His injury has equally been felt in the team’s ability to run-block. The Jaguars’ other tight ends, especially Johnny Mundt, have filled in nicely blocking, however, neither are the force Strange proved to be early this season.
Brenton Strange remains PFF’s second-best run-blocking tight end, just behind Brevyn Spann-Ford of the Cowboys. He’s a big reason as to why the Jaguars found so much success in the run-game early on this season, particularly outside the tackles.
Strange is due back at the earliest in Week 11, a matchup against the Chargers in what could be a matchup between two playoff teams. Until then, the Jaguars will have to find some sort of consistency through the air and it might just be through rookie Travis Hunter.
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