Building on a dominant 13-4 finish, Trevor Lawrence and a revitalized coaching staff have transformed Jacksonville into a legitimate AFC powerhouse primed for a deep 2026 run.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are earning some respect as a top team in the NFL, ranking seventh in Nick Shook's power rankings before the season.
Shook, an Around the NFL writer for NFL.com, said he heard coach Liam Coen's comments about the lack of respect his team receives. Jacksonville became one of Shook's favorite teams to watch because of the explosive offense led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was emerging as a star.
"The results were so strong that the Jaguars didn't feel the need to make many changes in the offseason," Shook wrote. "I'm going to trust their process as we near the start of the 2026 campaign and reserve a place on their bandwagon until they give me a reason to hop off."
The Jaguars finished last season 13-4, including an eight-game winning streak in the final weeks. It became the second-best record in franchise history, behind a 14-2 run in 1999.
Lawrence threw for 4,007 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and added 359 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. His 38 total scores set a career high for the 2021 first overall pick.
He has put together 4,000-yard seasons before (2022 and 2023), but the team never had elite success. They finished 9-8 in back-to-back seasons, but only made the playoffs in 2022. A crucial loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 18 of 2023 handed the AFC South crown to the Houston Texans, causing them to miss the postseason.
So what changed from three to four seasons ago? A new coaching staff in Liam Coen and coordinators Grant Udinski and Anthony Campanile, and productive young talent.
Coen and Udinski revived a struggling offense that ranked 25th in total offense (306.2 yards per game). The duo added more pre-snap motions to identify which coverage the defense was in and balanced the run game, mixing wide zone and interior runs.
These changes turned Jacksonville into a borderline top-10 offense, ranked 11th at 337.4 yards per game. It finished behind the Denver Broncos, who averaged 5.2 more yards per game.
Campanile turned the Jaguars into the best run defense last season. They allowed 85.6 yards per game with DaVon Hamilton and Arik Armstead stuffing the run inside.
Hamilton had a 61.1 run-defense grade, which ranked 42nd out of 110 qualified defensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Coen called the six-year veteran a force in the trenches this week during training camp.
Shook has the team ranked high, but the offseason talk about them doesn't reflect that. Many analysts have criticized Jacksonville's quiet offseason, as valuable contributors left in free agency, and it is betting on internal improvement.
Lawrence and the squad are paying no mind to the outside noise, though. They have high expectations for the season and aren't satisfied with last year's 13-4 record.
