Jacksonville Jaguars "Can Marcedes Lewis become a tight end Mercedes?"

This could be the year Jacksonville Jaguars fans finally learn to spell Marcedes Lewis' name.It's not "Mercedes," as in the high-end automobile, but "Marcedes." Yet based on his performance during the Jaguars' recent mini-camp, the 6-foot-6, 265-pound UCLA product could be emerging as a Mercedes 4 Brett Favre White jersey
among tight ends.The reason is new Jags offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who as a college coach always saw tight ends as more than blocking sleds with hands. And in Lewis, Koetter thinks he may have not just a go-to guy on short patterns, but a potential deep threat.While Lewis may not be Terrell Owens -- his 40 times prior to the 2006 draft ranged from 4.7 to a shade over 4.8 -- he is one of those players who seems faster during games than in time trials. Moreover, as a former Bruin basketball player, he has the ability to elevate over most of the league's defensive backs."We're going to look for vertical opportunities," said Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio at the end of mini-camp. "We're going to throw to the tight ends."Three of them, at last count -- Lewis, George Wrightser and Jermaine Wiggins, a free agent from Minnesota. Wiggins caught 46 passes with the Vikings last season, while Wrightser had 39 receptions for 353 yards and three touchdowns for Jacksonville.By comparison, Lewis' 13 catches for 126 yards and a single touchdown (against Buffalo, on a 1-yard pass from David Garrard) look rather anemic. But he may be the most "vertical" of the three, and only his subpar blocking kept him from spending more time on the field. It's a facet of the game that Lewis -- described as "extremely coachable" -- has been working on.Lewis was the 2006 John Mackey Award winner as the nation's best tight end and went to Jacksonville as the 28th pick of the first round. As a UCLA senior, he set a school tight end record with 58 receptions, accounting for 741 yards and 10 touchdowns, and was named to the first team of several All-America teams. He scored 21 receiving touchdowns in his UCLA career, second only to J.J. Stokes.Koetter, whose last Arizona State squad (with TE Zach Miller a key component) was second in the nation in total offense, liked what he saw of Lewis so much that the Jaguars ran a lot of four-receiver sets during mini-camp, some of Steelers 6 Super Bowl Champions jersey
them with two tight ends.Hamstring pulls suffered by Lewis and Wrightser hampered the process a bit, but Koetter still got a chance to see what his big guns could do on downfield routes. Maybe way downfield.Got an idea or a topic that you would like to see explored? Tell us all about it by e-mailing us at feedback . Keep track of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the rest of the NFL