AFC South Power Rankings: Where do Jacksonville Jaguars sit after 2023 collapse?
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
It's hard to put the Jacksonville Jaguars in the top stop based on how the 2023 season ended. Heck, you could even make the case that Indianapolis is more deserving of second place because they finished the year on a strong note while the Jags lost six of their last nine games. On the other hand, maybe this is the wake-call they needed. They learned the hard way that roster building cannot stop.
Last year, the Jaguars took a conservative approach with the expectation that several players would take a step forward. That's not necessarily a bad thing, the issue is that they stopped loading up on talent, so when those players failed to improve, they were left with several roster holes. The fact that they didn't get much production out of their 2023 draft class outside of first-round pick Anton Harrison and a couple late-round selections didn't help matters.
While Brenton Strange and Tank Bigsby, drafted in Rounds 2 and 3, respectively, could still develop into core contributors, they left much to be desired last year. The Jaguars will need more from both next season to justify their selection. That said, they aren't the biggest question marks on offense, that would be the interior offensive line, where both guard positions and the center spot could use upgrades.
On defense, there will be a new coordinator calling the shots. Jacksonville parted ways with Mike Caldwell one day after the embarrassing loss to the Tenessee Titans. They're currently in the process of looking for his replacement. Whoever gets the job will need to get the most out of a group that looked sloppy and unprepared at times.
Just one year after being the media darling, the Jaguars enter the offseason with lots of questions. Although they still have lots of talented pieces in places (e.g. Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Tyson Campbell, Darious Williams), they need to show that the 2023 season was an outlier and not a sign of things to come.