Maybe I’m still a little salty from having Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne Jr. on my doomed fantasy football team last year. But I’m not really sold on this version of the Jaguars.

Last year’s team struggled against the better competition posting only a 3-6 record against playoff teams. And the fade down the stretch was painful to watch. In fact, if the Eagles season hadn’t ended as badly as it did, pundits would have really taken notice of how poorly Jacksonville finished. A slow start this season though will remind everyone how inept this team looked.

Trevor Lawrence is the last remaining quarterback drafted in 2021 still with the team that drafted him. He’s had three years to prove he’s a franchise quarterback, and even though he hasn’t lived up to the hype he still got his $275 million extension. The Jaguars used the offseason to completely revamp their receiver room, but that wasn’t the problem with the passing game last year.

It was Trevor Lawrence.

Franchise quarterbacks are able to lift their teams. They make the plays that count, not just the easy lay ups at the beginning of the season. When the game is on the line, when the season is on the line, who is going to step up and make the deciding play? So far, Lawrence has been deficient in his career.

The talent on this Jaguars team is better than last year’s team. With Doug Pedersen getting a second year to develop this roster and work with Trevor Lawrence we should see a big jump in production. But does this lead to more wins? Time will tell, but I’m getting the feeling that the Jaguars are going to be stuck in the mud for the next three years – just like the Giants are with Daniel Jones, the Raiders now Saints with Carr, and Cleveland with Watson.

I think the defense this year will be better, and hopefully, Pedersen will put more focus on the running game. There is going to be a logjam of teams in the AFC right around the 8-9 9-8 mark that are all fighting for the last playoff spot. Maybe this team finds a way this year.

2024 Prediction: 9-8 2nd AFC South/Playoffs Wild Card Round