The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that has had its struggles on offense previous to 2017. The addition of Leonard Fournette and the coaching of Doug Marrone made the unit much better. Part of the issue has been Blake Bortles, drafted with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Despite all of that, one player who was productive when healthy was Allen Hurns. At the age of 26, Hurns has been a quality player and should be a hot name in free agency.
After letting Allen Robinson walk in free agency, it was surprising to hear the news of the Jaguars releasing Hurns as well, given the questions they already had at the receiver position.
Confirmed: WR Allen Hurns will be released by the Jaguars. He becomes a free agent immediately.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 20, 2018
Given the amount of money they already have tied up in the receiver position, it would truly be surprising if the Cowboys beat out the market of suitors that is expected for Hurns’ services. Hurns was slated to make a $6.9 million base salary this year ($7.9 million next year, $9.5 million in 2020). He wouldn’t come cheap, although he might not be able to match those numbers.
However, there are many qualities about Hurns that could interest the Cowboys. When he is on the field, he’s been a quality receiver. If he can stay healthy, he will be able to help a team upgrade their receiving corps. He is a guy who has caught nearly 200 passes and 21 touchdowns in his four-year career.
There is also his blocking ability. Similar to Jacksonville’s offense, the Cowboys’ focal point of their scheme is to run the ball with consistency to sustain drives. Hurns is an established run-blocker. Receivers who can block are valued in these types of offenses. It is one of the reasons why Williams is still trotting out there on a consistent, every-down basis.
With the reports of the Cowboys wanting to sign Sammy Watkins, it makes you think that maybe the Cowboys could be aggressive adding to the position. Depending on how much the Cowboys prioritize the receiver position, perhaps overspending on this specific position may be needed.
The downside of Hurns is his recent problems with the injury bug. The past two seasons he has missed 11 games.
With holes to fill across the board on the roster, signing Hurns would all but eliminate the Cowboys from using a Day 1 or Day 2 prospect at the receiver position. Again, he is not a superstar by any means, but he is the type of guy who would be a nice addition to an offense that wreaked of staleness and ‘vanilla’ in 2017. Of course, it’s all about the money in the end.