After they finished the 2022 season with a surge and reached the divisional round of the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars were starting to be considered emerging contenders in the AFC.
But they had a correction last season, as an 8-3 start turned into a 9-8 finish and being left out of the playoffs.
While many may have cooled on the Jaguars’ potential moving forward, Field Yates said on ESPN’s “NFL Live” that their roster is set up for quarterback Trevor Lawrence to take the next step in his development, they just need to “play better.”
“The Jaguars biggest adjustment this year, is play better.” @FieldYates believes the Jaguars’ roster is set up for Trevor Lawrence to take the next step this season pic.twitter.com/C7Hn0dbmVy
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 10, 2024
Jacksonville suffered a significant departure this offseason when wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who led them in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last season, left in free agency.
Taking his place, at least in theory, is Gabriel Davis, who came from the Buffalo Bills and had 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023.
The Jaguars do have two legitimate weapons in wideout Christian Kirk and running back Travis Etienne, but Yates praised their decision to draft wideout Brian Thomas Jr.
Thomas had 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns last season at LSU, and at 6-foot-4, he has good speed and overall athleticism.
Lawrence was becoming a hot commodity after his outstanding finish to the 2022 campaign, but last year, he didn’t really build on that performance, and he flattened out at 4,016 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns while throwing 14 interceptions.
With the rest of the AFC getting even more competitive, the Jaguars will need plenty of internal improvement if they are to return to the playoffs, let alone do something meaningful there.
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