Parker Washington Is Quietly Becoming Trevor Lawrence’s Most Trusted Target in Jaguars Camp

Parker Washington keeps making the plays that matter, and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen has taken notice. Through the opening days of training camp at the Miller Electric Center, Washington has established himself as quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s top target in practice, according to Sports Illustrated’s John Shipley.

Shipley reported that Washington “has routinely been the top target” for Lawrence during camp reps, a continuation of the chemistry the two built during the second half of the 2025 season. It is not just one observer noticing it, either. CBS Sports relayed the same reporting, noting Washington is doing it in a crowded room that also includes Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers and Travis Hunter.

Coen has echoed that trust publicly. Asked about Washington’s preparation and mindset entering a contract year, the second-year Jaguars coach relayed a recent exchange between the two of them. “I texted Parker last week… and he was like, ‘I’m ready to kill,'” Coen told Action Sports Jacksonville. “That’s all I need to hear from him.”

Coen didn’t stop there. He praised Washington’s work ethic, saying the receiver is usually the first player in the building looking for extra reps — the kind of detail that sticks with a coaching staff building a locker room identity from scratch.

None of this is happening in a vacuum. Washington is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and the Jaguars have been steadily locking up their own players this offseason — defensive tackle Travon Walker, cornerback Montaric Brown, long snapper Ross Matiscik and tight end Brenton Strange have all signed extensions. Washington has not, and it’s become one of the more closely watched storylines of camp.

Washington, for his part, isn’t dwelling on it. “For me, it’s just staying focused, keeping the main thing the main thing, and letting my agent and everybody in the front office talk about it,” he said, via Action Sports Jax. “I just want to come out here and be a professional and just keep being me.”

From Afterthought to Lawrence’s Go-To Option

The trust wasn’t handed to Washington. He earned it the hard way, buried on the depth chart behind Thomas, Hunter and Dyami Brown to start 2025. A former sixth-round pick out of Penn State, Washington didn’t do much in his first two NFL seasons. Then injuries opened the door, and he walked through it.

By season’s end, Washington had turned into Jacksonville’s most reliable underneath target. He topped the 100-yard mark in three of the team’s final four games, including the postseason, and added a touchdown in the Jaguars’ Wild Card loss to Buffalo. That stretch is the foundation of the trust Coen keeps talking about now.

The offensive infrastructure helped too. Coen’s system leans on the slot role the way he once used Cooper Kupp in Los Angeles and Chris Godwin in Tampa Bay — pre-snap motion, option routes and a heavy dose of yards after the catch. Washington’s build, low to the ground and hard to bring down in the open field, fits that role well. Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski put it plainly: “When the ball is in the air, I have the utmost confidence that he’s gonna come down with it.”

What It Means Heading Into 2026

Jacksonville’s receiver room is stacked, which makes Washington’s early camp standing more notable, not less. Thomas is a former first-round pick. Hunter is a two-way rookie phenom drawing snaps at receiver and cornerback. Meyers is a proven possession target who signed a three-year extension last December. Washington is still carving out reps ahead of all of them right now, and that’s worth watching as the calendar moves toward the regular season.

There’s a contract angle layered on top. Baltimore’s Zay Flowers agreed to a four-year, $140 million extension this week, a deal that could reset the market Washington’s camp is negotiating against. Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone has a track record of getting ahead of these situations — the team extended Walker, Brown, Matiscik and Strange before hitting free agency — and Washington’s camp performance so far only strengthens his leverage.

Nothing is finalized. No extension has been announced, and any specific dollar figures floating around remain speculative until the Jaguars and Washington’s representatives make something official. But the on-field trust is real, documented across multiple independent camp reports, and it’s setting up Washington for a featured role in Jacksonville’s offense in 2026.