![Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) celebrates his first down pickup during the third quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_1059,y_177,w_4828,h_2715/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/139/01kt4k48x7dqz1w0ff8x.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) celebrates his first down pickup during the third quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
Former Penn State football wide receiver Parker Washington enters his fourth season in the NFL after being selected 185th overall in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Season after season, the Jaguars capitalized on Washington's versatility as a wideout. As a rookie in second-year NFL receiver, he primarily lined up in the slot. In Year 3, Washington got more time as an X receiver, showing off more of his route running ability and one-on-one matchups.
Following this breakout year, head coach Liam Coen wants to expand Washington's role. Just as he did after his second season, Coen wants Washington to unlock a different element to his game.
"Just the consistency of the dominating presence that he was towards the end of the season, the things that he was able to do both in the slot and outside for us," Coen explained after one of the Jaguars' OTAs.
Jaguars HC Liam Coen says he wants to expand WR Parker Washington's role in 2026 👀
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) May 31, 2026
Coen wants Washington running a more diverse route tree and getting touches through screens, jet sweeps, and downfield routes.
(via @BLACKandTEAL) pic.twitter.com/DzkQJNqD9B
Washington, 23, made 16 regular season appearances in 2025 and played in the AFC Wild Card Round. Excluding the playoffs, he caught 58 passes for 847 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 14.6 yards per catch and 52.9 receiving yards per game. He had a 63.8 percent first down receiving rate.
Washington also became one of four NFL players in history to log 750-plus receiving yards and multiple punt return touchdowns in a season, according to his Jacksonville player bio. The last player to do so was DeSean Jackson in 2009.
Given Washington's growth at the professional level, this season is huge for both him and Jacksonville. This is his fourth season in the NFL, meaning a contract extension is potentially on the horizon for the former Nittany Lion.
"I think activating him a little bit, continuing to work on the ball-in-hand stuff that he can, I think, do at a high level because of the way he's built and wired, the screen game, continuing to work on those things, the jet sweeps, getting on the ball in some of those ways," Coen continued. "And then the control route tree, the complete route tree, excuse me, of slot outside being able to do all those things, I think that's a step he can take."
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