Even though the Jacksonville Jaguars are in a familiar situation in terms of their record, there is a sense of optimism around the franchise. That is primarily because Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns have emerged as one of the NFL's most viable wide receiver duos. The two wide outs finished their Week 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a combined 12 receptions for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Stat lines like those are becoming commonplace for the two second-year receivers. Robinson has reached the end zone four times this season and Hurns three times, which is tied for third and seventh in the NFL respectively.

The emergence of Hurns and Robinson last season and into 2015 has been rather surprising and took some turns from Jacksonville’s original plan. These two were never supposed to be the leaders of yet another rebuild in Jacksonville until they just were.

With the investment of the fifth overall pick in 2012, Justin Blackmon was supposed to be the guy until it was clear his off the field issues would take him right out of the league altogether. Even Marquise Lee was supposed to be more of a cure for the wide receiver woes than this duo.

So how exactly did Jacksonville get here? Why are Robinson and Hurns leading the way and not the others?

In the 2012 draft Jacksonville traded up to select Blackmon out of Oklahoma State. Blackmon was pegged as the cornerstone for the Jaguars' offense for years to come. In 2011, Jacksonville had the fewest receiving yards per game in the NFL. The next season, with the addition of Blackmon, the Jaguars moved up to 19th overall. Jacksonville had their star on offense to build around.

In Blackmon’s second year, however, this went off course. He was suspended twice, once for four games and a second time indefinitely, for violating the league’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. On May 2, 2014, six days before the NFL draft, Jaguars general manager David Caldwell announced that Blackmon would likely miss the upcoming season.

If there were ever a time for a team’s wide receiver corps to be in need of a make over, it would have been before the 2014 NFL draft. The draft boasted big-name wide outs such as Odell Beckham Jr., Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Jordan Matthews and Brandin Cooks. Instead of picking one to the higher rated receivers in the draft, however, the Jaguars selected quarterback Blake Bortles with their first round pick. Jacksonville later drafted Lee and Robinson, ranked as the sixth and ninth best wide receivers in the class by Mel Kiper Jr. in the second round. Hurns went undrafted, but was later picked up by the Jaguars as a free agent. Jacksonville came away with three wide outs in what could be the greatest overall wide receiver draft class in NFL history.

Lee and Robinson were the new answer for Jacksonville’s receiving corps. Lee played in 13 games and caught the ball 40 times for 422 yards and a touchdown to cobble together a decent rookie season. Robinson played in only ten games his rookie year due to a stress fracture in his foot that ended his season early, but he still accounted for 548 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Hurns, on the other hand, was expected to be a practice squad type player and maybe fit in on the fringes of a NFL roster, but that narrative was gone after the first game of his rookie season. The University of Miami alum made a splash against the Philadelphia Eagles when he finished with two touchdowns and 110 receiving yards on only four catches. Jaguar fans began to keep a tentative watch on Hurns for the remainder the year to see if it were a fluke. After playing in each game and amassing 677 receiving yards on 51 receptions with six touchdowns, the rookie debut appeared to be legitimate. Though, outside of Jacksonville and to a handful of fantasy owners Hurns remained off the radar heading into 2015.

Robinson and Hurns are currently on pace to go over 1,000 yards receiving, a feat that has not been accomplished in Jacksonville since Jimmy Smith in 2005. Jacksonville has not had two players go over the 1,000-yard mark in the same season since Smith and Keenan McCardell did it in 2001.

Lee has played in only two games this season due to a lingering hamstring injury since training camp, but Jacksonville is in a position to be patient for the recovery process due to Robinson and Hurns’ ability to carry the receiving load alone. The two receivers have 45 percent of Bortles’ completions and 70 percent of his touchdown throws.

Bortles is being sacked at a lower rate than 2014 and is on pace to cut his interceptions down as well. The former UCF quarterback has the arm strength to stretch the defense, but he still needs to improve his accuracy to take the next step. The Jaguars drafted Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon in the second round of last year’s draft. While Yeldon hasn’t blown away the competition through his first five games as a rookie, he has shown flashes of being an effective running back in the NFL and went for over 100 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in an overtime loss earlier this season. Bortles and Yeldon have the potential to develop into really good players in the NFL. It is the young receiving corps, however, which has the ability to set the young Jaguars apart from the rest of the league.

Hurns and Robinson have proven to be one of the hottest receiving duos in the NFL that has yet to catch much national attention. Hurns currently ranks eighth the NFL in receiving yards this season, while Robinson has the second most receptions of 20 yards or more with eight. Add a healthy Lee into the mix down the line and the Jaguars just might have the most talented collection of under-25 players at the skill positions in the NFL. While the young talent has not resulted in many wins or success on the field yet, the potential is so clearly, yet quietly, there for Jacksonville. Waiting and developing may be the only ingredients left since all the other parts seem to finally be in place for the Jacksonville Jaguars.