3 things you should know about Jaguars WR DJ Chark

In June, Jaguars coach Urban Meyer reached into his bag of motivational tactics for wide receiver DJ Chark when he said after watching last season's game tapes, he saw a big that played little.

''I just didn’t like his size. His strength, I just thought, was way below average, way below what we expect from our receivers, and he was told that,” Meyer said.

Chark took the harsh criticism in stride and worked on getting stronger throughout the offseason program. Yet, he was still unable to avoid experiencing a setback. Chark missed all of the preseason because of a hairline fracture injury on the middle finger of his right hand. Chark's injury was severe enough that doctors had to operate to insert a plate into his finger.

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With all of his rehab work completed, Chark has gone from running on the side two weeks ago to taking part in team work against the defense this past week. Despite all three of the Jaguars' preseason games, he is expected to start in Sunday's opener against the Houston Texans. 

Chark wants to be team's No. 1 receiver

Chark expects to recapture what he accomplished two seasons ago when he made a big enough impact to earn a Pro Bowl trip. In 2019, Chark caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. However, Chark's production declined last season when he made 53 catches for 706 yards and five touchdowns 

'When I’m not playing as fast, I feel like I’m not to my top ability. I’m not making the plays that I could be making, and I don’t like that myself,'' Chark said. ''The main thing is playing with speed, vertical speed, getting down the field which I’m pretty good at. I just have to continue to be consistent.”

In pivotal contract year

Chark, a second-round pick in 2018 from LSU, is in the final year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He wants to return, but the Jaguars need to see progress this season to extend Chark a second contract.    

'I'm counting on him to get back and give us a little bit of a vertical threat down the field,'' Meyer said.

What he needs to do against Texans

To be impactful against the Texans, Chark has to get a quick release off the line of scrimmage against the cornerback and create immediate separation. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence said he made a bunch of completions to Chark in team work drills this past week, so that needs to carry over into Sunday's game.

''Honestly, I don't feel like we've really missed a step,'' Lawrence said. ''We've stayed a couple days after to get some timing routes and all those things just to make sure we're good, but we’ve completed a ton of balls. Even last week, it was funny like he couldn’t really use his hand that much still and he’s catching everything with his chest. He was itching to get back."