The Jacksonville Jaguars have spent most of the last decade living in the extremes. In eight of the last ten seasons, they have finished either first or last in the AFC South. It's all or nothing with the Jags.
So it's a bit jarring to see them ranked firmly in the middle of the pack in the AFC heading into the season. But that's exactly where they fell in Mike Sando's rankings. Sando, of The Athletic, polled six NFL executives to create a 1-16 ranking of every team in the conference. Jacksonville ranked ninth, just outside of playoff range.
After an electric first season under head coach Liam Coen, especially in the final stretch, the Jaguars apparently still haven't done enough to earn the league's respect.
Liam Coen's Jaguars are still getting left out of the AFC playoff picture
One anonymous executive was optimistic about Jacksonville's outlook this year. They said, "How good the coaching is on both sides of the ball. (Anthony) Campanile, (Grant) Udinski, and Liam Coen give them a really good top three from a young, bright mind perspective. They are good up front defensively, and once they added (Jakobi Meyers), that offense took off. (Bhayshul) Tuten has the potential to be an explosive back. I don't see a lot of regression."
The rest weren't so sure. Five of the six voters put the Jags in the "Division Contender" tier.
The case for regression is obvious. The Jaguars didn't make many meaningful additions to their roster, and they lost both Devin Lloyd and Travis Etienne.
But the fact that they retained the key members of their coaching staff after such a strong season is flying under the radar. Campanile was one of the most effective defensive coordinators in the league last year, and Udinski is seen as one of the brightest young minds in the sport. In a second year under this staff, both sides of the ball could take significant steps forward.
Jacksonville reached 13 wins after losing four of its first nine games. Throughout the run at the end of the season, Coen's squad was as good as any in the NFL.
If they can keep that streak going, the Jaguars could finish near the top of the AFC for the second year in a row.
The rest of the league may not believe in the Jaguars, but it won't take long to prove them wrong.
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