Jaguars’ Lewis wants to be league’s top tight end

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)—Marcedes Lewis(notes) knows the perception: He’s an underrated player in an undersized market, overshadowed by his longtime teammate and often overlooked by colleagues.
He believes it’s time for that to change.
Lewis wants to prove he’s the best all-around tight end in the NFL, capable of football jersey
blocking defensive ends, beating linebackers down the field and becoming quarterback David Garrard’s(notes) go-to guy.
He already has the Jacksonville Jaguars convinced. Coach Jack Del Rio calls him the “most dominant player on our football team.” That’s still not enough for Lewis.
“I’m trying to separate myself,” he said. “There are guys who can really block and can catch OK, and there are guys who can really catch and can block OK. I want to be able to do both at a high level, and I want everybody to recognize it. I take that very seriously.”
Lewis took a step toward his goal last season. He caught 32 passes for a career-high 518 yards and two touchdowns. Not staggering numbers, especially when compared to elite tight ends Antonio Gates(notes), Dallas Clark(notes), Jason Witten(notes), Vernon Davis(notes) and Tony Gonzalez(notes).
But the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Lewis averaged 16.2 yards a catch, tops for tight ends and better than most of the league’s star receivers.
“We feel like he has a chance to continue to blossom for us and become a real weapon,” Del Rio said. “He’s been absolutely sensational—blocking, catching, leading, sending the right message with his actions. Really proud of the start he’s had.”
Lewis insists he’s just getting starting.
A former UCLA standout and 28th pick in the 2006 NFL draft, Lewis spent his first two offseasons back on the West Coast. Instead of working out with his Jacksonville teammates, he was hanging out with family and friends. The Jaguars never complained, even though they knew Lewis wasn’t maximizing his potential.
Lewis, though, heard the whispers. He also watched the team go through significant changes. Jacksonville parted ways with dozens of veterans—most notably running back Fred Taylor(notes), linebacker Mike Peterson(notes) and defensive tackle Marcus Stroud(notes)—and Lewis realized he needed to do more to avoid a similar fate.
So he stuck around, spending more time in Minnesota Vikings jersey
the weight room, more time in the video room, more time on the practice field and more time with his teammates.
“It’s just time,” he said. “I’ve sat back, I’ve paid my dues. I came into the league and they were like, ‘I don’t know if he’s going to be able to block.’ I focused on it and proved I could do that. Then it was, ‘We don’t know if he can stretch the field.’ I focused on it, and last year, I stretched the field.
“This is the year that I bring both. Just so everybody understands, I can do both. This is something that I’ve worked very hard for.”
If he sounds serious, it’s because he is.
Lewis, who’s never been much of a rah-rah guy or a showboat, is a proud man who love to talk about his hometown, the woman who raised him as a single mother or the very detailed tattoo on his chest—a Mount Rushmore of important male role models in his life. The mural features Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, President Obama and Lewis’ great grandfather.
He models his leadership methods after them.
“I’m not about to get up in your face,” Lewis said. “I do it in my own special way. I just try to lead by example. If I need to say something, I’ll say something. It’ll be a few words and it’ll mean something and they’ll know that I’m serious.
“I’m not one of those guys who talk just to be making noise and there’s no substance to it. That makes no sense and you get no respect from your teammates if you’re that type of guy.”
Lewis is getting plenty of respect from his teammates these days. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew(notes), who has played three college seasons and four NFL seasons alongside Lewis, estimates that more than 75 percent of his yardage at UCLA came while running behind Lewis.
So he’s glad to see Lewis starting to get more attention.
“He’s been coming into his own for a long time and now everyone else is starting to see it,” Jones-Drew said. “I’m just happy for him because he deserves it.”
Lewis doesn’t mind the hype. After all, he Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
has lofty goals.
“I just want to be that guy that’s accountable, that everybody on the team can look to and be like, ‘OK, we know what he’s going to do all the time. We know what to expect out of him every Sunday and we’re going to get it,”’ Lewis said. “I don’t want to be a blinking light. I want to be a shining light.”