Jacksonville Jaguars land near the bottom of training camp power ranking

The Jacksonville Jaguars are in rebuilding mode after finishing 1-15 last season. Besides hiring Urban Meyer as the head coach and promoting director of player personnel Trent Balke to general manager, they have also made several additions to the roster. In spite of all the upgrades, the Jags didn’t get a favorable spot in a recent power ranking.

The Bleacher Report team recently ranked all 32 NFL teams ahead of training camp and Jacksonville popped up at 30. B/R says that it’s rare for a team that is coming off a 1-15 season to generate so much hype. They see the arrival of quarterback Trevor Lawerence as the main reason.  They point out that even though the Clemson product was limited during organized team activities, he will have no restrictions in training camp.

Bleacher Report also acknowledges that Lawrence will have several offensive weapons at his disposal, including but not limited to DJ Chark Jr., Marvin Jones Jr., Laviska Shenault Jr. at wide receiver, and rookie Travis Etienne and James Robinson at running back. Nevertheless, B/R also highlights some of the Jaguars’ potential flaws ahead of the 2021 season.

"The Jaguars also have a bottom-10 offensive line according to Pro Football Focus and a defense that checked in last in the AFC in both yards and points allowed."

Gary Davenport — one of the writers at Bleacher Report — believes the Jags “are going to be better this year than last” but thinks their ceiling in 2021 is about six wins. The only two teams that ranked below Jacksonville were the Houston Texans (32) and the Detroit Lions (31). Meanwhile, the New York Jets (29), the Philadelphia Eagles (28), the Carolina Panthers (27), and the Las Vegas Raiders (26) were some of the teams that finished above them.

The Jacksonville Jaguars should have earned a higher ranking.

Bleacher Report rightly ranked the Jaguars ahead of Houston and Detroit. After all, the former couldn’t make major upgrades in the offseason due to salary cap restraints and a dearth of early-round picks in the draft. Moreover, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson’s status for the upcoming season remains uncertain. The Lions lack offensive power and have a quarterback with a limited ceiling in Jared Goff, so their place in the ranking seems fair.

On the other hand, you could make the case that the four clubs ranked ahead of Jacksonville have as many or more questions mark ahead of training camp. The Jets, just like the Jags, have a rookie quarterback in Zach Wilson, and Robert Saleh is making his debut as an NFL head coach. The Eagles also have a first-time head coach in Nick Sirianni and uncertainty at quarterback while the Raiders have several holes on defense and lack firepower at wide receiver.

The Jaguars’ wide receiver corps has the potential to be a top 10-15 unit in 2021. Furthermore, Robinson and Etienne could form a formidable running back tandem. It’s true that the defense ranked near the cellar last year but the team’s brass made allocated a vast amount of resources to the unit in the offseason and should show a noticeable improvement this upcoming season.

After all the changes the team’s brass made in the offseason, Davenport’s estimate may be a tad conservative. Several things need to go right but winning seven or eight games isn’t out of the question for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 season.