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Jacksonville Jaguars' overlooked weapon is giving DC Anthony Campanile a special sort of appreciation
Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars like how their team under this new regime is coming along for their 2025 season.

They hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen as the head coach, brought on James Gladstone from the Los Angeles Rams, Anthony Campanile from the Green Bay Packers, and Grant Udinski from the Minnesota Vikings; all former members of successful and winning franchises.

The Jaguars are tired of losing, and you can see that in some of the roster moves they made this offseason, too, with the roster building and construction being done to put this team back in a position to fight for the AFC South with the Houston Texans. Although some of their roster construction has been to keep some of the players they already have.

The Jaguars are hoping that with better coaching and some added pieces here and there, they can become a better team than they were last year. Of course, that also means they are banking on health, too. In going about it that way, they decided to keep a guy who has had an excellent offseason so far -- a guy who seems to be overlooked.

“He’s another one that just works his tail off every day," Liam Coen told reporters when asked about TE Brenton Strange. "If you were to ask Campy [Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile], one of the guys that he really has a lot of appreciation for, specifically, obviously as a defensive coordinator, is Brenton Strange. 

"Just the way that he practices, when he does get his hands on you, when he is blocking, he’s physical, he’s violent, he has some explosive movements. He's got strong hands. So, I’ve been really pleased with Brenton. I do believe that he’s ready to take a step, and you saw it last year, he's kind of taking some steps forward. Been really pleased with his efforts so far.”

With Evan Engram now with the Denver Broncos, Strange will have an even bigger role going into his third season, and we have heard a ton about the big offseason he has had so far. And, you have to think of all of the players that the Jaguars no longer have, and the production that will need to be made up.

That includes Christian Kirk, who is now on the Houston Texans in the AFC South. Gabe Davis, the former Buffalo Bills wide receiver who was the Jaguars' big free agency signing last year, is no longer on the team, and a few other players are going to be playing in different uniforms as well.

In this new offense, the Jaguars and specifically Trevor Lawrence will need a bit of consistency when it comes to the passing game, and you could even say the same about the run blocking at the tight end position as well. Having Strange there in that room with this new scheme will only help the Jags' offense as a whole. And, it will only help him have a better season than what he has had.

And for what it's worth, Strange is no scrub, even though he isn't a big-time name or a guy that the casual fan knows about, unless they are a casual Jaguars fan. He can really help them in 2025.

When he was thrown into action more last season, Strange produced. The numbers aren't crazy because he was on a bad team and still down the depth chart, but he finished with 411 receiving yards on 40 catches in 2024 with two touchdowns to his name, too.

We all know that Pro Football Focus grades aren't the end-all be-all, and sometimes we shouldn't use them, but when you have a player like Strange, who didn't play a lot last year, it's a good way to gauge how well he did when he did play. Strange only played 330 pass snaps, and in those snaps, he walked away with a pass grade of 68.2, which really isn't bad at all. And with more snaps, he could only be better.

We have to remember that everything he has done up until this point is also within a bad offense on a bad team with tons of injuries around him and not enough opportunities due to some of the other players that were on the roster. On a new offense, one that we have seen work with similar personnel, Strange can be a completely different person in the pass game than everything we have ever known about him as a professional.

Strange is in for a huge season, or at least a much bigger and better season than he has had so far, and it starts with the simple fact that he may get more opportunities right out of the gate.

In 2025, he is predicted to be the starting tight end. So, they obviously have some sort of faith in what he can do after seeing the tape of what he was able to do last year and this offseason. And, you don't necessarily need an All-Pro tight end out of Strange, just someone who can help take pressure off of Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter.

They need a safety blanket for Trevor Lawrence, and that's what Strange can be.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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