Trusted NFL voice not sold on Jaguars for the 2022 NFL season

The Jacksonville Jaguars are picking up steam ahead of the regular season and several analysts believe they have a shot at making the playoffs. But columnist Peter King, one of the most respected voices across the NFL, doesn’t think they will do much of note in 2022.

King recently shared his predictions in his Football Morning in America column. He believes the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers will face off against each other in the Super Bowl and the former will be the one rising the Lombardi Trophy after the game. King also projected the division winners and he thinks the Tennessee Titans will seize the AFC South crown.

For Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, King picked New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, respectively. The only mention he makes of the Jaguars is in his “surprise records” section, in which he predicts they will finish the 2022 season with a 7-10 record.

The Jags have won more than six games in a season just once since 2008, so racking up seven victories would be a step in the right direction. On the other hand, that’s fewer wins than other analysts predict.

The Jaguars still have plenty of work to do in the 2022 NFL season

While it would have been great to hear why King thinks the Jags will go 7-10, they’ve been so bad for so long that’s not surprising that he picked the Titans to win the AFC South, especially when you take into consideration that they were the division champions last year. Plus, he isn’t the only one that predicts Jacksonville will win fewer than eight games in 2022.

In fact, John Breech of CBS Sports projects the Jags to win six games this upcoming season, which would still be better than any of the last four years. Nevertheless, it feels like Jacksonville has the potential to finish the season with eight or nine victories and possibly compete in the division.

After all, Trevor Lawrence should improve considerably in 2022, and even though there are few question marks in the offensive line, he should have better protection up front. Similarly, his arsenal of weapons will be better than it was last year. And the defense got several upgrades in the offseason, so they should be able to stop other teams from putting points on the scoreboard and also create turnovers at a high rate.

The Jaguars have a new head coach for the second straight year and they’re coming off a 3-14 season, so it’s hard to blame King or other analysts for waiting to see what they can do on the field. Maybe then, they will increase their win total or they could be proven to be right.