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          NFL Nation

          Free-agency needs: Wide receiver

          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 26, 2015, 05:30 PM ET
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          Here is the fourth of a 10-part series breaking down the Jacksonville Jaguars' free-agency needs, position by position:

          Wide receiver

          Who is on the roster: Arrelious Benn, Damian Copeland, Tandon Doss, Allen Hurns, Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Ace Sanders, Tommy Streeter, and Tony Washington. Justin Blackmon is on the reserve/suspended by commissioner list and doesn't count against the roster limit.

          Players scheduled to become free agents on March 10: Cecil Shorts.

          Analysis: After cornerback there's probably more excitement about the Jaguars' receivers than any other position because of the way Hurns, Lee and Robinson played as rookies in 2014. Robinson was the team's leading receiver (48 catches, 548 yards) before missing the final six games because of a stress fracture in his foot. He was on pace to catch 77 passes, which would have been a franchise record for a rookie receiver. Hurns (51 catches for a team-high 677 yards) became the Jaguars' deep threat, with three of his team-high six touchdown catches coming from at least 34 yards. Lee struggled early but came on late and caught 37 passes for 422 yards. He was at his best when the Jaguars got him the ball quickly and let him use his speed to gain extra yards. Shorts ended up leading the team in catches (53) but it was a disappointing season for him because he was hoping to put up good numbers to earn a contract extension. Now it appears the Jaguars will allow him to test the market and he's unlikely to return. Sanders caught 51 passes as a rookie in 2013 but was suspended for the first four games of the 2014 season because he violated the league's substance-abuse policy and was used mainly as a punt returner. He caught just six passes. He's on the bubble for 2015 with the return of Doss, who spent the 2014 season on IR with an ankle injury. Doss was third in the NFL in punt return average in 2013 (15.3 per return) and Sanders averaged 5.6 as a rookie and 6.8 in '14. Blackmon is eligible to apply for reinstatement and the Jaguars are hoping to have an answer from the NFL before the draft at the end of April. GM David Caldwell said the team isn't counting on having him, though, and is treating his potential return as a luxury. Even if he does come back, the Jaguars want to add a veteran receiver in free agency. None of the players expected to be back in 2015 (not counting Blackmon) have more than 56 career catches (Sanders).

          NFL free agents of interest: It is expected to be a very good group of available free agents even if Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas are franchised as expected. Randall Cobb would top the list, but other players the Jaguars could target are Jeremy Maclin, Michael Crabtree, and Torrey Smith.