Jacksonville Jaguars surprise in early 2026 rankings, landing top-10 spots. Key offseason moves will be needed to boost pass rush and solidify contender status.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX. With that, the 2025 season is officially in the books and all 32 teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, are back at square one to prepare for the 2026 season and attempt to reach Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium on Valentine's Day 2027.
Now that the bow on 2025 is tied up, NFL power rankings are coming out, already looking ahead to the 2026 season.
We'll take a look at three sets of power rankings, from The Athletic, ESPN, and CBSSports, to see how each views the Jaguars either coming out of the playing season or entering the offseason, starting with ESPN.
ESPN: No. 9
ESPN's way-too-early 2026 power rankings views the reigning AFC South champions as the ninth-best team in the league and fourth-best in the AFC, behind the Patriots, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills.
ESPN's Jaguars writer, Mike DiRocco, says the key in the offseason is bolster the team's pass rushing. The Jaguars ranked third in the NFL with 222 pressures, but 27th in sacks with 32. DiRocco asserts help will come via trade or free agency, since Jacksonville doesn't have a first-round pick in April's draft.
Josh Hines-Allen (8) and Arik Armstead (5.5) were the only players on the team to record at least five sacks in 2025. Former No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker was third, with 3.5 sacks. The Jaguars would love to find extra help on the outside to create more depth and depth behind Hines-Allen and Walker.
The Athletic: No. 9
Josh Kendall and Chad Graff put together the rankings for The Athletic following the Super Bowl and also have the Jaguars at No. 9.
One difference here is that, in addition to the Patriots, Broncos and Bills, the Jaguars in this power rankings trail their division rival, the Houston Texans, who clock in just above the Jaguars at No. 8.
The Athletic says of the Jags, "You're going to hear about them a lot," following a 13-win season and a close, three-point loss to the Bills in the wild-card playoff opener. The Athletic also made note of the Jaguars having the fourth-best point margin in the league during the season at plus-138. Only the Seahawks (+191), Los Angeles Rams (+172) and Patriots (+170) had a higher point differential.
The Jaguars' offense took a major step forward in Year 1 under head coach Liam Coen. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence set a franchise record with 38 total touchdowns. If receiver Brian Thomas Jr. can get back on track, the Jaguars have a ton of potential in 2026.
CBS: No. 4
Finally, we get to Pete Prisco of CBSSports, who is highest on the Jaguars, ranking them at No. 4, behind only the Seahawks, Patriots and Rams.
While Prisco agrees that the defense's pass rush must be improved, he says the franchise nailed the head coach hire with Coen and that "this young team is building toward something."
Here are the ages of a few of the Jaguars' key players or reserves:
- RB LeQuint Allen Jr., 21
- K Cam Little, 22
- WR Brian Thomas Jr., 23
- RB Bhayshul Tuten, 23
- Parker Washington, 23
- TE Brenton Strange, 25
- DE Travon Walker, 25
- CB Christian Braswell, 25
- QB Trevor Lawrence, 26
- OL Walker Little, 26
- RB Travis Etienne Jr., 27)
- C Robert Hainsey, 27
Plenty of youth on the roster and plenty of upside coming off a 13-win season. This is why Jacksonville is going to be a sneaky pick for some to reach Super Bowl LXI.
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