Jaguars WR Parker Washington dazzling in preseason

By Hays Carlyon

Parker Washington is making a big move.

The Jaguars second-year receiver continued his strong August in Saturday’s preseason game against visiting Tampa Bay at EverBank Stadium.

Washington caught three passes for 38 yards, highlighted by a 25-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Mac Jones. The 22-year-old Washington ran a post pattern, splitting the Tampa Bay safeties to score on third-and-17.

The former Penn State standout could be on the receiving end of some passes from starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence when the regular season starts at Miami on Sept. 8.

Lawrence was asked a week ago about which young receivers had stood out to him. The always diplomatic Lawrence started to give a general answer before gushing about Washington’s improvement.

“I don’t want to leave anybody out, but I’ll just give you one: Parker Washington has looked great,” Lawrence said. “From last year to this year, such an improvement on just the way he’s played. For him to have a full offseason where he’s healthy I think has been good for him too.”

Washington battled a knee injury as a rookie. He played in nine games (one start) but never was able to find much success, especially after star receiver Christian Kirk suffered a season-ending injury in the 12^th game of the season. Washington finished the year with 16 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

“To see him this year, it’s been cool to see his transformation and how good he looks,” Lawrence said. “I’ve been really impressed. He’s a guy that you see him, he’s a slot receiver, but he’s played outside, he’s moved around, he can kind of do everything. He’s great after the catch too. That’s going to help us a lot. That’s a guy I’d probably say that I’ve noticed the most.”

Washington has been a major bright spot in the preseason. He broke a 73-yard kickoff return to start the preseason opener against Kansas City. He’s clearly the team’s fourth-best receiver. Most importantly, his game is rounding into form at every spot, which should make him the primary backup for Kirk, Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas.

(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter/X @HaysCarlyon)