The hope of every NFL team every season is to win the Super Bowl.

Of course, for most teams, that is an unrealistic goal. Many teams have to scratch and claw just to make it to the postseason. Only a handful make it to January thought of as true Super Bowl contenders.

Some teams are willing to sacrifice future success in order to load up for one, maybe two, Super Bowl runs. Others make moves that strengthen their future outlook but hurt their ability to compete in the short-term.

The best teams, the ones who consistently hit on draft picks, make shrewd free agent signings, and avoid handing out regrettable contracts, find a way to be contenders year after year.

Others find themselves in a perpetual state of rebuilding. These teams often shell out lots of money to the wrong free agents, draft the wrong quarterback, or hire the wrong coach. 

On Monday, ESPN released its NFL Future Power Rankings. Instead of focusing on how good each team looks for this season, a panel of Aaron Schatz, Ben Solak, Louis Riddick, and Seth Walder ranked teams on their outlook for the following three years, covering the 2027-2029 seasons.

Like grades on a test, teams were scored out of 100 on each of their quarterback situation, non-QB roster, coaching, and front office. The four scores were then averaged together into one.

The Jacksonville Jaguars ranked 13th out of the 32 NFL teams. 

ESPN's grading of the Jaguars were as follows: 85.75 for QB (12th), 80.5 for non-QB roster (8th), 87 for coaching (9th), and 78 for front office (14th). Their overall score was 82.6, good for 13th.

Here is what the four analysts had to say about Jacksonville:

"Reason for hope: After years of close-but-not-quite, quarterback Trevor Lawrence finally looked like the prince who was promised in the back half of the 2025 season, his first under coach Liam Coen. Jacksonville is also suddenly deep at positions such as wide receiver and cornerback (thanks, Travis Hunter). If GM James Gladstone's solutions at offensive line hold, the Jaguars will have all the features of a yearly contender. -- Solak

"Reason for concern: There is something to be said for having conviction in your process as a general manager, and sometimes that includes going against the grain as far as the usual strategies when team building. The projected value that Gladstone received with his selections in Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2026 draft (TE Nate Boerkircher and DL Albert Regis) remains to be seen, as I have my doubts about the long-term prospects of the draft overall. -- Riddick

"Nugget to know: To further Riddick's point, the Jaguars' 2026 draft ranked third worst of any team in the past 10 years based on publicly available draft grades. The two drafts that graded lower? The 2020 Packers, led by Jordan Love in the first round, and the 2017 Bears, led by Mitchell Trubisky in the first round. -- Schatz

"Bold prediction for 2027-29: Lawrence will finish in the top six of QBR over these three seasons combined. Despite how he finished in 2025, he still has plenty of doubters. But I think it's possible that Lawrence has been held back by some combination of offensive line, coaching and drops. With the current iteration of the Jaguars, he is supported. -- Walder"

Like most, ESPN was not a fan of Jacksonville's draft class, especially the selections of Boerkircher and Regis. However, the organization was extremely excited to draft Boerkircher, and Regis flashed some pass-rushing ability in the team's opening preseason game. If the big man can consistently add pressure to his repertoire, he could become an excellent draft pick. Instantly grading draft classes is fun, but often proves to be a futile endeavor.

It seems a bit odd that Walder predicts Lawrence will finish top six in QBR over the three seasons the piece covers, yet Jacksonville's QB situation was ranked 12th in the league. Perhaps the team's quarterbacks were downgraded due to its current stable of backups behind Lawrence, but a possible trade could instantly upgrade the Jaguars' QB room.

As far as coaching is concerned, Jacksonville finally hired the right head coach in Liam Coen, who was Lawrence's fourth HC in his first five seasons. Coen is one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL and led the Jaguars to a whopping nine-win improvement in his first season.

Coen is young and should remain Jacksonville's HC for a long time, giving the franchise the stability it has lacked for a long time. However, both coordinators, Grant Udinski and Anthony Campanile, may not be in Duval for much longer. Both are expected to become head coaches soon, possibly as early as 2027. Replacing them could be very difficult.

The front office was undoubtedly dinged for the decisions made this past offseason, which have been heavily criticized for months. Despite the moves the FO did or did not make, they were still the ones who hired Coen and made the call not to trade wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., a decision that is looking smarter every day.

Despite only finishing 13th in ESPN's rankings, the Jaguars are set up to be contenders for the foreseeable future.

Lawrence and Coen have the potential to grow into one of the elite QB/HC duos in the league.

Jacksonville also has several other young building blocks who will be leading this team into the future. On offense, the Jaguars have Travis Hunter (23). Parker Washington (24), Thomas Jr. (23), Brenton Strange (25), Anton Harrison (24), and Emmanuel Pregnon (24).

Defensively, they have Hunter (again), Travon Walker (25), Antonio Johnson (24), and Caleb Ransaw (23), as well as veterans like Josh Hines-Allen, who should remain productive throughout the seasons that ESPN based its rankings on.

The future is bright for the Jaguars. Perhaps much brighter than ESPN believes.