The Jacksonville Jaguars kick off their regular season Sunday with a road trip to Hard Rock Stadium to take on the Miami Dolphins.
This is the time of the season when fans’ optimism and hope are at an all-time high before the reality of meaningful wins and losses. With postseason aspirations once again, Jacksonville has the talent to get there.
Accordingly, Jaguars Wire has prepared a few hot takes for Jacksonville entering the 2024 campaign, three bold predictions for the Jaguars after their active offseason building a hopeful Super Bowl contender.
Trevor Lawrence posts career-high numbers under Press Taylor
He is off to a good statistical start to his now-four-year career, averaging a 68.8 percent completion percentage and hovering around seven yards per passing attempt.
The former No. 1 overall selection started his first eight games of the 2023 season with a nine-to-four touchdown-to-interception ratio, completing just over 68 percent of his throws. Jacksonville went 6-2 in that stretch.
But as Jaguars fans are well aware, the season went downhill after the halfway point along with Lawrence’s play, though he battled through nagging injuries late in the campaign.
The biggest thing the Jaguars should learn from last season is to stay hot when they get hot, and the same can be said for their signal-caller. Likely operating under Press Taylor in his second season as Jacksonville’s full-time play-caller, Lawrence should have enough comfort within the offense to do so.
The former Clemson standout will post career-high numbers in passing yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt, and a career-low in interceptions. I envision Lawrence producing a stat line of 4,350 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions and 8.1 yards-per-pass attempt.
He will benefit from Jacksonville’s new-look wide receiver room (more on this in our next prediction) and a healthier offensive line to put Jacksonville’s offense back on the track it followed to the 2022-23 AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Brian Thomas Jr. leads all rookies (and the team) in receiving yards
Jacksonville’s first-round selection is a gifted athlete who ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. He displayed that explosiveness consistently during his final season at LSU, averaging over 17 yards per catch and posting 17 touchdowns.
Thomas wins with instant acceleration that allows him to stack defensive backs on vertical routes while having the short-area quickness to gain yards after the catch with creativity.
He is a raw playmaker who continues to develop his route tree and technique as a route-runner, but showed progress in this department during training camp and the preseason. He averaged 31 yards per reception over three exhibition catches this August.
Trevor Lawrence finds the rookie Brian Thomas Jr. for the big gain!
📺: #JAXvsATL on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/a5pBYAIFoc— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2024
Jacksonville surrounded Thomas with several capable playmakers as he adjusts to the speed of the NFL, taking the stress of being the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiving threat off his plate as a rookie.
I see him benefitting from that lack of pressure and Lawrence’s bounce-back year, and believe he could lead all rookie wide receivers in yards.
Arizona’s Marvin Harrison Jr., New York’s Malik Nabers, Kansas City’s Xavier Worthy and Chicago’s Rome Odunze are all rookie playmakers who could be productive from the jump.
The same can be said for Thomas, whose athletic skill set will open up the Jaguars’ passing game beyond his own production.
By the end of the season, the former All-SEC standout will be the top target for Lawrence, finishing the season with over 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns.
Jacksonville wins the AFC South, making a surprise deep playoff run
This seems like a tall task in itself. The Jaguars play in a division that includes three other teams with playoff aspirations. They also play in the AFC, which until further notice, is run by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Two years ago, Lawrence led this team from worst to first with a home playoff win and came close to unseating the Chiefs in the divisional round.
Inconsistencies were cause for concern last season, but the ultimate reason Jacksonville fell apart was Lawrence’s multiple injuries, paired with top receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones (now with Arizona) dealing with their own hurts.
That changes this year with injuries behind the Jaguars, a rejuvenated offense under Taylor and a top-10 defensive unit coached by new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen putting the squad back in contention.
With big seasons from Lawrence and Thomas, Jacksonville finishes 4-2 in the division with losses to Houston and Indianapolis while compiling an 11-6 record to snag the AFC South division crown and the No. 3 seed in the AFC.
Lawrence, who I believe finishes the season with MVP votes, will lead his team to the AFC championship. But ultimately, the Jaguars will fall just short of their first Super Bowl appearance to Mahomes in Arrowhead Stadium.