NEW YORK -- Mike Evans can learn from Vincent Jackson in Tampa Bay, and Odell Beckham will join Victor Cruz with the New York Giants, but Marqise Lee won't have the benefit of learning from an established No. 1 receiver as a Jacksonville Jaguar.
But after waiting a day longer than he hoped to be drafted as the club's second-round pick, the former Southern Cal star has no doubt he has the physical skills to be the No. 1 receiver the Jaguars have sorely lacked since ... well, perhaps Jimmy Smith, depending on how one defines a go-to pass catcher.
The only trick for Lee, he said, will be mental.
"My goal is simple. Learn the playbook as fast as possible when I get in there, so I can have the opportunity to become that receiver they're looking for," Lee said. "If I don't learn that playbook, I'll be struggling, too."
Asked if the mental adjustment is all he'll need to establish himself as the Jaguars' top wideout, he replied, "I can honestly say yes."
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Stanford coach David Shaw, who was a guest analyst on NFL Network Friday, saw enough of Lee in the Pac-12 to be a believer.
"I went back and watched the 2012 film. On the 2012 film, he's a top-10, top-15 pick in my opinion. And I believe he's the same guy," said Stanford coach David Shaw told College Football 24/7. "I don't know that he was healthy all year. He didn't have the same explosion, didn't play quite as much. But when that kid's healthy he's one of the best in the country."
Jaguars GM David Caldwell indicated that first-round pick Blake Bortles would ideally sit the bench for a season before stepping in as a starter in 2015. With former Jaguars first-round pick Justin Blackmon behaving his way out of the NFL, however, Lee's learning curve will be much more sharp.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
