Christian Kirk's four-year, $72 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars brought chuckles from critics in the spring. Through two weeks of the regular season, the snide remarks have been silenced.
Kirk, who had never earned a 1,000-yard season in four years in Arizona, has netted 197 yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches in his first two games in Jacksonville.
"I don't want to say it in [these] terms, but we paid that man a lot of money and he deserves every bit of it," defensive end Josh Allen said, via ESPN. "We know that as a team. I was super excited that we got him because I know what type of player he is. I played against him. I've seen him. I watch film. I know what type of player he is so to have him on our team to make big plays is incredible. I think he's going to continue to make big plays for us."
Kirk has already become Trevor Lawrence's No. 1 target and go-to guy on key downs. He ranks seventh in the NFL in receiving yards through two weeks and is second in yards per reception at 16.3 (minimum 10 catches).
Kirk has lined up mainly in the slot (62 percent), but coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor have moved him around the formation, from out wide to a few backfield snaps to find mismatches.
"It's all about matchups," Kirk said. "One thing when we first installed this offense is Doug and Press kind of harped on is, 'We're going to put you guys in the situations and the matchups to be able to take advantage of that.'
"It's great week in and week out they have a plan, they have a vision of what they want to look like."
Kirk had some big stretches when he was in Arizona but was never the go-to target. In Jacksonville, with Lawrence looking his way often, the 25-year-old wants to prove he's worth the money for the long haul.
"The way I look at it is it doesn't say much because I've got to do this for all 17 weeks," he said. "And that's my plan. This is just two weeks. That's my demeanor. I'm here to do this for all 17 weeks and help this team win. Being productive and helping this team getting W's and putting us in position to make a playoff push, that's all I can ask for.
"That's my mentality and that's my attitude for the rest of the year."
