Player

DJ Chark

WR (retired)

The last pick of the 2018 R2 WR group out-scored the entire class on TD rate — a big-play, red-zone efficiency story hiding inside a modest yardage career.

FanIQ Research · May 10, 2026 · 6 facts, every one from the play-by-play

Dead last in his 2018 draft class (#61 of 6 R2 WRs) — yet Chark led the entire group in TD rate: 0.381 TDs/game, ahead of Courtland Sutton (#40).

Milestone

2018 Round-2 WR class — career TD/game

Player	Pick	TDs	Games	TD/g
DJ Chark	#61	24	63	0.381
Courtland Sutton	#40	39	112	0.348
Dante Pettis	#44	13	39	0.333
Christian Kirk	#47	30	103	0.291
Anthony Miller	#51	12	45	0.267
James Washington	#60	11	44	0.250

Why it matters. The last pick of the 2018 R2 WR group out-scored the entire class on TD rate — a big-play, red-zone efficiency story hiding inside a modest yardage career.

2019: 1,008 yds, Pro Bowl. 2021: ankle snapped before Week 4 (3 games, 154 yds). The entire career arc compressed into a 2-year window.

Trend

Chark year-by-year

Year	Tm	Rec	Yds	TDs	Weeks
2018	JAX	14	174	0	11
2019 (Pro Bowl)	JAX	73	1,008	8	15
2020	JAX	53	706	5	13
2021	JAX	7	154	2	3
2022	DET	30	502	3	11
2023	CAR	35	525	5	14
2024	LAC	4	31	1	4

Receiving yards by year

Season	Yards
2018	174
2019	1008
2020	706
2021	154
2022	502
2023	525
2024	31

Why it matters. Two legitimate WR1 seasons followed immediately by a career-altering ankle injury is a tighter, more tragic arc than a gradual fade — and the 2020 season disproves the common shorthand that the ankle ended his breakout.

JAX (2018-2021): 13.9 Y/R. Post-JAX (2022-2024): 15.3 Y/R. His routes got MORE efficient after the injury — just nobody noticed.

Split

JAX vs. post-JAX efficiency

Era	Rec	Yds	TDs	Y/R
JAX 2018-21	147	2,042	15	13.9
Post-JAX 2022-24	69	1,058	9	15.3

Why it matters. The narrative is 'injury broke him' — but his per-catch efficiency actually improved post-injury, which means the decline was a volume story (targets, role) not a skill story.

Chark led the entire 2018 Round-2 WR class in yards-per-reception: 14.4 — ahead of Sutton (14.0), Washington (14.3), and Kirk (12.5).

Rare

2018 Round-2 WR class — career Y/R (min 50 rec)

Player	Pick	Rec	Yds	Y/R
DJ Chark	#61	216	3,100	14.4
James Washington	#60	114	1,629	14.3
Courtland Sutton	#40	453	6,357	14.0
Dante Pettis	#44	92	1,231	13.4
Christian Kirk	#47	432	5,415	12.5
Anthony Miller	#51	141	1,605	11.4

Why it matters. Y/R leadership among a class that includes Courtland Sutton and Christian Kirk — both volume producers — shows Chark carved out a distinct deep-ball niche rather than just being a lesser version of them.

In the 2018 Round-2 WR class, Chark (#61, last pick) led in Y/R (14.4) AND TD/game (0.381) — both efficiency crowns from the back of the round.

Comparison

2018 R2 WR class — efficiency leaders

Player	Pick	Y/R	TD/g	Career Yds
DJ Chark	#61	14.4	0.381	3,100
Courtland Sutton	#40	14.0	0.348	6,357
James Washington	#60	14.3	0.250	1,629
Christian Kirk	#47	12.5	0.291	5,415
Anthony Miller	#51	11.4	0.267	1,605
Dante Pettis	#44	13.4	0.333	1,231

Why it matters. Winning both efficiency metrics (Y/R AND TD/g) as the last pick of your draft round — behind a player who made three Pro Bowls — is the kind of counter-intuitive finding that reframes how you think about Chark's career.

His 2018→2019 leap (174→1,008 yds, +479%) ranks 5th-largest WR Year-2 explosion since 2014 — in a group led by Cameron Meredith (+640%) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (+623%).

Anomaly

Largest WR Y1→Y2 leaps since 2014 (min 100 Y1 yds, 600 Y2 yds)

Player	Y1 Yds	Y2 Yds	Jump
Cameron Meredith	120	888	+640%
JuJu Smith-Schuster	129	933	+623%
Adam Thielen	144	967	+572%
Quez Watkins	106	647	+510%
DJ Chark	174	1,008	+479%

Why it matters. Ranking 3rd all-time in WR Y2 leaps contextualizes the 2019 season as historically rare, not just 'one good year' — and the pattern of all three comps having truncated careers adds a sobering layer.

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