Despite a roster featuring an MVP-caliber QB and other elite talent, Jacksonville slides in ESPN’s power rankings just before the regular season kicks off.
After months of hard work and anticipation, the NFL regular season is finally about to begin,
The calendar has flipped to September. The preseason is over. The 53-man roster and practice squad have basically been set.
And, for some reason, the Jacksonville Jaguars are dropping in NFL power rankings.
Despite being overlooked and dismissed by experts throughout the past several months, the vibes surrounding this year's Jaguars team have been overwhelmingly positive.
Why shouldn't they be? Jacksonville has a potential MVP candidate quarterback coming off a career year in Trevor Lawrence. The team has an impressive coaching staff, led by Liam Coen, who is entering its second season at the helm.
Players like Parker Washington, who is a big part of what is potentially the league's deepest group of wide receivers, and Antonio Johnson, PFF's top-graded safety of 2025, are on the verge of stardom.
Two players who had disappointing seasons last year, Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter, are healthy and looking like the superstars they are expected to be.
Recently, Chris Simms of NBC Sports called the Jaguars "a Super Bowl football team." The Athletic believes Jacksonville's win total projection for this season is too low.
It appeared that the closer we got to the regular season, the more people were starting to believe in the Jaguars.
Until Monday, when ESPN released its final set of preseason NFL power rankings, now that each team had made its initial 53-man roster.
Jacksonville, a 13-win last season, fell two spots and now sits only 17th.
That's right. A team with a roster loaded with high-end young talent, and had one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses, and the NFL's best run defense in 2025, is now ranked by ESPN in the bottom half of the league's 32 teams.
Please, somebody make it make sense.
ESPN's Analysis Of Jaguars Is Very Positive
ESPN's analysis of the Jaguars is very positive, which only makes Jacksonville's ranking even more confusing.
After highlighting that the Jaguars are attempting to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time this century, Michael DiRocco pointed out a few of the reasons why the Jaguars should again be very good this year.
"The Jaguars, Browns and Commanders are the only three franchises to not make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons this century. The last time the Jaguars did that was a 1996-99 stretch that included two AFC Championship Game appearances (1996 and 1999). The Jaguars are returning 19 starters from a team that went 13-4, finished the regular season with eight consecutive victories and won the AFC South. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was an MVP candidate, and Liam Coen was the runner-up for AP Coach of the Year, so things are in place for the Jaguars to snap that streak. -- Michael DiRocco"
Absolutely nothing in that paragraph suggests this is a middle-of-the-pack team.
Final Thoughts
ESPN ranking Jacksonville 17th makes zero sense. Even if the burden is on the Jaguars to prove last season wasn't a fluke and that they aren't just a one-year wonder, this team has enough talent for anyone to be convinced it will be very good.
Coach Coen must be loving that his team is flying under the radar heading into the season. Now, Jacksonville has even more motivation to embrace its underdog mentality.
I think we will all look at these rankings in a few months and have a good laugh.
