Corey Grant Increased Role?
By Phillip Heilman
Posted May 30, 2018 at 12:23 PM
Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett sounds pleased with the weapons he’ll have to work with this season, but there is one player in particular he wants to get involved more often.
That is fourth-year running back Corey Grant, whose speed, elusiveness and pass-catching ability could allow Hackett to be more creative as he builds his offensive game plan.
“He’s just a guy we’ve got to get out there,” Hackett said after the Jaguars’ fourth organized team activities practice Tuesday. “There’s all these guys we’re talking about, and it’s a long ways away from that first game to see what we’re going to get, but I love to put him out there.”
Evidence of how the Jaguars feel about Grant was the one-year contract they tendered him in March. The second-round level they placed on him means Grant will make $2.914 million this season. According to contract analysis website spotrac, Grant’s salary cap hit in 2018 is expected to be 21st among all running backs.
That will be money well spent if Hackett can continue to design plays to take advantage of Grant’s skills like he did during the AFC title game against New England. Grant caught three passes for 59 yards in the 24-20 loss, sparking a pair of first-half touchdown drives with long receptions.
Especially interesting is how the Jaguars used Grant on those plays, twice having him on the field alongside running back Leonard Fournette.
His first reception came on a first-and-10 play from the Jacksonville 24-yard line. Grant was lined up similar to a slot receiver on the left side of the formation while Fournette was to the left of quarterback Blake Bortles in the shotgun.
At the snap, Bortles faked a hand-off to the right and threw to Grant with two blockers in front of him. Grant made a linebacker miss and picked up 20 yards.
Five plays later, Grant was alone in the backfield and the Jaguars faked a hand-off to the right. That time, Grant slipped into the flat and was left uncovered. He gained 24 yards, and the Jaguars scored on the next play.
On the following drive, the Jaguars ran the first play again, faking a hand-off to Fournette and swinging a pass to Grant, who had tight end Marcedes Lewis and receiver Marqise Lee in front of him. The gain was 15 yards, and the drive resulted in a rushing touchdown by Fournette.
“He’s a major change-of-pace back,” Hackett said of Grant. “He’s a guy that can catch the ball from the backfield. And even [when] we’ve given him the ball in the backfield, he’s done really good things. It’s good because you’ve got him and you’ve got T.J. [Yeldon] right there with Leonard. It’s a really good group.”
Fournette will continue to be the focal point of the offense, but it will be interesting to see how much more the Jaguars can squeeze out of Grant while continuing to maintain his effectiveness.
Last season, Grant carried 30 times for 248 yards (8.3-yard average) and caught three passes for 41 yards during the regular season. Those numbers were skewed, however, because of successful fake punts against Baltimore (58-yard run) and the Los Angeles Chargers (56-yard touchdown run).
The Jaguars released running back Chris Ivory in February, which could provide Grant with a few additional carries. But having him on the field with Fournette is an intriguing wrinkle the Jaguars should try to build on. Those plays afford easy throws for Bortles, take some of the burden off Fournette and have the potential to quickly become big gains.
Grant said his early impression from the coaching staff is that he will have an expanded role on offense. Set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, a bigger opportunity could equal a bigger payday in the future.
“You always want to take advantage of mismatches, and the perfect example of it was the Patriots game,” Grant said. “I think my reps will increase. That happens if I come out here and make plays and let the coaches become confident in what I do and with [me] being confident in what I do. It works both ways. I’m just working every day trying to get better.”
