Jaguars 2023 triplets among the 10 best in the NFL

Winning the AFC South title and making the playoffs in 2022 has gotten the Jacksonville Jaguars a bigger profile across the league. Having a talented core of players also helps. Led by Trevor Lawrence, the Jags have enough playmakers to keep up with all powerhouses in the conference. But Lawrence isn't the only playmaker in Jacksonville, wide receiver Calvin Ridley and running back Travis Etienne were also recognized on a list Jared Rubin of CBS Sports put together.

Rubin counted down all triplets in the NFL and placed the trio of Lawrence, Ridley, and Etienne at No. 7, noting that it will be hard to rank them outside of the top 10 as long as Lawrence is with the Jaguars.

"His rise last season was a bit overshadowed, but he is elite at avoiding negative plays and over the second half of the season began tapping into his outside-of-structure playmaking and high-level ability to read each layer of the defense. With a true No. 1 wideout now on board in Ridley he should be able to ascend another level this season"

After throwing more interceptions than touchdowns as a rookie, Lawrence scored 25 passing touchdowns (and added five rushing) and threw just eight interceptions, six of them in the first half of the season and just two during the Jaguars' winning streak to end the year. With a stronger grasp of head coach Doug Pederson's system and a superb surrounding cast, the former Clemson Tiger is ready to join the upper echelon of NLF quarterbacks in Year 3.

Ridley hasn't played a snap for the Jaguars but he's a full-go after missing the 2022 season while serving an indefinite suspension for betting on football games the year prior. Also, he's in great shape and ready to claim his place as one of the top receivers after working on his mental health and recovering from a broken foot he played through in 2021.

Etienne is a good pick to round out the Jags' triplets. After missing the 2021 campaign with a Lisfranc injury, he totaled over 1,414 yards from scrimmage and five rushing touchdowns last year. Without having to worry about rehab, the former first-round pick has been working on his craft in order to be even better next season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars got a fair spot in CBS Sports 2023 list of triplets

CBS Sports hasn't released its full ranking yet. It's still missing the top six things but it's refreshing to see the Jags get some recognition after a highly successful 2022 season. Who would have thought that they were able to get to the postseason (and beat the Los Angeles Chargers) in Pederson's first season at the helm?

Before the start of the 2022 season, it was hard to see Jacksonville beating the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens but that's precisely what they did. Moreover, they came back several times and showed resilience at several points throughout the year.

Bad teams tend to lose when they're playing from behind but no game was out of reach for the Jaguars in 2022. Even when they were down 27 points against the Chargers in Super Wild Card Weekend, they found a way to overcome the deficit and win.

Going back to CBS Sports' countdown, the Jaguars got a higher spot than the Ravens and the New York Jets even though both teams have former league MVPs and are also stacked with talent. Even if Jacksonville hadn't beaten both clubs last year (but they did), they objectively have a better roster and will have the chance to prove they are one of the top teams in the league when they face the Buffalo Bills, the San Francisco 49ers, the Cincinnati Bengals and the defending Super Bowl Champion the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Jaguars had a hard time getting the spotlight throughout most of the 2010s. Now they've got it and they'll continue to get it as long as they keep winning games. Lawrence, Etienne, and Ridley can surely help with that.

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