After a 1-15 season in which Jacksonville received the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history, there is practically nowhere to go but up.
There’s a new regime in town led by head coach Urban Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke, and they’re about to land a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. Asking Lawrence to replicate the performance from Andrew Luck as a rookie, when he took Indianapolis from the first pick to the playoffs, may be a bit unrealistic. But with that being said, the team is still expected to make a major leap forward after its offseason additions.
The Jags’ over/under win total for 2021 is currently set at six games. Keep in mind that the league is expanding to a 17-game regular season, so that would be projecting an 11 loss season. However, ESPN Jaguars reporter Mike DiRocco believes that even that figure is a bit ambitious.
Over/under: 6
Prediction: Under
With all the excitement surrounding the hire of Urban Meyer and the expected selection of Trevor Lawrence, people seem to forget that the Jaguars’ defense gave up the most yards and points in franchise history in 2020. They did address that side of the ball in free agency with CB Shaquill Griffin, S Rayshawn Jenkins, DT Roy Robertson-Harris and DE Jihad Ward. They’ll add more players in the draft, but expecting that to be enough to move Jacksonville into the middle of the league defensively is a reach. Which places a lot of pressure on the rookie QB against a schedule that includes trips to Seattle, the Los Angeles Rams and New England. — Mike DiRocco
DiRocco’s breakdown here is fair. The Jaguars should have much more depth in 2021, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t improve on both sides of the ball. But its defense was atrocious in 2020, and even with a good draft, Jacksonville didn’t add enough immediate impact players to completely transform it in one year.
The offense has the chance to be solid with Lawrence, a talented receiving corps, and a dependable running back in James Robinson. But with the youth on the roster, and the defensive concerns, reaching six wins in 2021 feels like a stretch.