Parker Washington catches first NFL touchdown with Jaguars
Former Penn State star Parker Washington has found the end zone in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars rookie caught a 15-yard touchdown pass late in the first half of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
CJ Beathard delivered the pass, which put Jacksonville ahead 12-0. The touchdown was the first of the game for either team.
The reception by Parker Washington was his second of the preseason. He hauled in one catch for 16 yards last week against Dallas.
Washington caught a pass in all 32 games he played in during his time at Penn State. Last season, he caught 46 passes for 611 yards and two scores for the Nittany Lions.
For his college career, he caught 146 passes for 1,920 yards and 12 touchdowns over three seasons..
Washington signed with Penn State as a four-star recruit and the No. 357 overall player in the country for the class of 2020, according to the On3 Industry rankings. The Texas native was drafted by the Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft, going No. 185 overall.
Washington ranks No. 10 on the Penn State career receptions list. He is also No. 13 on the career receiving yards list.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have one final preseason game against the Miami Dolphins next Saturday, before beginning the regular season at the Colts on Sunday, Sept. 10. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Jaguars’ Doug Pederson opens up about Trevor Lawrence’s development heading into year 3
If Parker Washington gets playing time during the regular season he’ll be catching passes from Jaguars star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson recently spoke about Lawrence and what he has seen from the Clemson star ahead of his third season in the NFL.
“The biggest thing that I’ve seen with Trevor, now going on two years, from where we had him a year ago in the offseason to today, just his confidence is incredible,” Pederson told reporters earlier this week. “It’s off the charts. He’s put the past behind him, he’s focused on the future, and really embraced this opportunity with this football team. The confidence level with him is extremely high, as it should be.”
That’s good news for a Jaguars team that won the AFC South last year and rallied to beat the Chargers in the playoffs. Jacksonville ended up falling to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs but not until they put a scare in Kansas City.
That and more has led to Lawrence’s confidence continuing to grow.