Parker Washington is picking up right where he left off last season.

The wide receiver, heading into his fourth season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, exploded onto the scene last year with the best season of his young career. Taking advantage of the season-ending knee injury to star rookie Travis Hunter and the struggles of Brian Thomas Jr., Washington finished 2025 with 58 catches, 847 receiving yards, and five scores. He also showed his game-changing ability as a returner, taking two punts to the house and averaging 13.6 yards per return.

His breakout campaign made him one of the most hyped Jaguars for months, and anticipation for his encore season has been sky-high. He was expected to receive a big-money contract extension this offseason, but so far no deal has happened. 

If the lack of an extension is weighing on Washington's mind, you certainly wouldn't know it from watching him on the field. Washington has gotten off to a great start at Jaguars' training camp, looking like the star many expect him to be this season.

In fact, Washington stole the show during practice on Thursday, according to Casandra Chesser of Jaguars Wire.

Heading into camp, head coach Liam Coen noted that Washington was "ready to go," and couldn't hide his excitement talking about a text message Washington sent him, saying he was "ready to kill."

The Penn State product has backed up his fiery words so far, with multiple reporters saying Washington was the best player on the field on Thursday.

Jags' quarterback Trevor Lawrence raved about Washington during an appearance on the Brent and Austen Show before camp kicked off, especially praising his yards-after-catch ability.

"Parker can do a lot of things. I'd say just his strength, in and out. I mean, in and out of cuts, getting defenders off of him, strong through the catch, can break a lot of tackles. Obviously the YAC he's able to create is impressive, but I mean, he also is good enough down the field to where he's not just an underneath intermediate guy," Lawrence said. "He can run the whole route tree. I think that's what really makes him dangerous, is because he can go over the top too. But I would say, obviously, underneath, when he catches a ball, and the ball is in his hand, there aren't many guys who can tackle him."

Lawrence and Washington formed a lethal connection over the back half of last season. Washington was finally given an extended opportunity to show what he can do, and he made the best of it. Even in a WR group as talented as Jacksonville's, it would not be a surprise to see Washington become the team's best WR this season.

If Thursday was any indication, Washington is on his way to reaching an even higher level in 2026. Like everyone else on offense, Washington should be more comfortable in Year 2 under Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, giving the entire unit a chance to be even more explosive than they were a season ago, when they finished sixth in the NFL in scoring.

Washington's play thus far during camp is only going to make the excitement for his upcoming season even stronger. If he stacks days like he had on Thursday throughout the entirety of camp, there will be no keeping him off the field once the regular season begins, even with BTJ, Jakobi Meyers, and Hunter all being extremely talented receivers.

Surprisingly, the Jaguars and Washington haven't agreed to a contract extension yet. Along with extending tight end Brenton Strange, which the team did earlier this offseason, locking up Washington long-term was one of the Jaguars' top priorities. Hopefully, that gets completed before the season starts.

By the looks of things at camp, Washington's price is only going to go up the longer it takes to extend him. 

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