Parker Washington spent last Sunday making Eagles defensive backs look a step slow, and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ sixth-round find now draws the Houston Texans’ All-Pro cornerback. Derek Stingley Jr. is the kind of corner who usually ends a hot streak. Through five weeks, though, he hasn’t played like the guy who landed among ESPN’s top 25 players entering the year.
Washington caught six passes for 124 yards and both Jaguars touchdowns in the 19-17 win over the Eagles, including a one-handed grab on fourth down. He leads Jacksonville with 22 catches for 352 yards and four touchdowns.
Parker Washington keeps winning downfield
[Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
PFF grades Washington at 85.4 overall, ninth among 86 qualified receivers. His average depth of target sits at 13.1 yards, and quarterbacks post a 129 passer rating when throwing his way. That’s a deep threat working at a starter’s level, which is exactly why Jacksonville is trying to figure out his next contract.
Trevor Lawrence has stopped caring about outside opinions. “We consider him an elite wide receiver, so I don’t know what everybody else thinks,” Lawrence said after the London win, as we wrote last weekend. “We feel like he’s pretty freaking good.”
He doesn’t need volume to hurt a defense, either. Washington has 33 targets, 20th among receivers, yet ranks fourth in touchdown catches. Houston can’t simply bracket him, because Jakobi Meyers and Brenton Strange are also producing, and Brian Thomas Jr. has slid into a third receiver role that still demands attention.
Derek Stingley Jr. is due for a bounce-back
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Stingley earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2025 with four interceptions and 15 passes defended, according to Pro Football Reference. This season has been rougher. He has zero interceptions and three passes defended, and PFF’s 58.0 coverage grade for him ranked 54th among corners as of early October. Receivers were averaging 20.5 yards per catch against him at that point.
Those numbers came before DeMeco Ryans made a change amid the 0-4 start and the Texans smothered Tennessee. A corner with Stingley’s track record doesn’t stay in a slump forever, and Wembley would be a loud place to break out of one.
Lawrence sees the whole unit clearly. “It’s a really good defense. There’s no secret about it. We just have to execute,” he said this week, per the Jaguars’ site.
If Washington keeps stacking explosive plays, Jacksonville can survive Houston’s pass rush by finishing drives instead of sitting in long-yardage spots. If Stingley takes him away, the Jaguars’ offense gets a lot smaller. Kickoff is 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network, so set the alarm.
