Previewing the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 NFL Season
The Jacksonville Jaguars of 2022 epitomised ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. Following an anticlimactic conclusion to their London Game against the Denver Broncos in which Trevor Lawrence threw an interception in what would be the Jaguars’ last drive of the game, the Jaguars would slump to a 2-6 record which would slightly improve to 3-7 prior to their bye week. Understandably, at this point questions were asked over the suitability of Doug Pedersen as head coach after merely half a season on the job and more pressing questions lied over Trevor Lawrence. His rookie year can be caveated by the disastrous reign of Urban Meyer yet at this point he was yet to show any visible signs of improvement. It truly felt like the Jaguars were on the cusp of re-entering the seemingly never-ending cycle to find their franchise quarterback after failing to do so with the Number 1 Pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Just as it seemed all hope was lost, the Jaguars went on an outstanding run spearheaded by a rejuvenated Lawrence. A nail-biting thriller against Baltimore was followed by an anomalous thrashing at Detroit synonymous with earlier season woes. However, just as hope risked dwindling again, the Jaguars would go on to win all of their last 5 games in a barnstorming run which allowed them to creep to the top of the AFC South defying all of the midseason odds. Late wins in Dallas and a defensive touchdown against Tennessee would have to be the highlights of such run.
The Wildcard Game was quite simply mimetic of the Jaguars’ season as a whole. A dire first half in which Trevor Lawrence threw 4 interceptions and the Chargers took a 27-point lead (which as a UK-based fan tempted me to call it a night at half time) was followed by an incomprehensible second half culminating in a field goal in the dying embers to secure a unforeseen 31-30 victory (which I am overjoyed I stayed up for). This would lead to an extremely closely fought battle with the Chiefs with the Jaguars’ narrowly coming out on the losing side as the otherworldly ability of Patrick Mahomes prevailed albeit less a Jamal Agnew fumble who knows what could have happened.
Prior to last season, I half-jokingly predicted that the Jaguars would in fact make the playoffs. A prediction which I certainly thought about retracting a number of times in the early and mid-season. Even the most optimistic of Jaguars’ fans would not have foreseen nor predicted such a peripeteia. Of course, the question lingers as to how easy it would be for the team (and Lawrence in particular) to slump back into the disastrous form and performance levels of yesteryear. Yet, at risk of putting my head above the parapet, I truly believe the Jacksonville Jaguars have turned a corner both performance-wise and culturally within the organisation. Thus, there is reason for optimism for the year ahead.
Pivotal to last year’s success was Evan Engram who the Jaguars secured amongst a stacked free agent haul in the summer of 2022- which included stalwarts Brandon Scherff, Foyesade Oluokon, Folorunso Fatukasi, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, Darious Williams and Arden Key- Engram was enigmatic in the Jaguars offense acting as an auxillary receiver whilst also having blocking upside. He caught 73 passes for a total of 766 yards representative of a career year for Engram. After much to-ing and fro-ing, Engram has signed a three-year contract extension which will net him a guaranteed $24m with the deal totalling $41.25m. If Engram can recreate his explosiveness this year, the Jaguars will once again be in a good stead with the ball.
Aforementioned in the list of last year’s free agents acquisitions are Christian Kirk and Zay Jones who combined for over 1,900 receiving yards last year as Lawrence’s primary aerial options. Strong first years silenced critics of both- particularly Kirk who was subject to doubt with a large $72m, 4-year contract overshadowing his every move. The Jaguars overall offense was irrefutably strong last year racking up an average of 357.4 yards per game which ranked 10th league-wide in spite of Travis Etienne being left slightly isolated in the running back room after the departure of James Robinson to the New York Jets. Therefore, the addition of Calvin Ridley who has signed following a year-long suspension for a violation of the league’s gambling code is a hugely exciting one which could be extremely prosperous. In the 2020 season, he had 1,374 receiving yards and scored 9 touchdowns- Ridley’s most productive season to date. If Ridley can emulate his previous firepower the Jaguars offense could be supercharged for the 2023 season with a quarterback in Trevor Lawrence who seems to be approaching the peak of his powers- evidenced by his last 9 regular season games in which he scored 15 touchdowns, threw only two interceptions and had a 105 passer rating.
In addition to the current squad and Calvin Ridley, the Jaguars addressed their needs in the recent draft just gone by. It may not have been the prettiest nor most spectacular pick but Anton Harrison out of Oklahoma who will replace the Chiefs-bound Jawaan Taylor and in turn bolstering the offensive line and will provide able deputy during Cam Robinson’s 4-game suspension for gambling which he will serve at the start of the upcoming season. Moreover, many of the Jaguars’ picks have large upside- in particular Tank Bigsby and Brenton Strange from the earlier rounds. Later on, I think Yasir Abdullah (p136), Antonio Johnson (p169) and Parker Washington (p185) will all prove to be late round steals having watched some of their respective film.
The only other prevalent negative from the offseason has to be the loss of Arden Key to Tennessee Titans- and in such an AFC South rival. Perhaps, his loss is more of a sentimental one than a true material loss detrimental to the defence itself following his heroics and stellar performance against what would come to be his new home. He will be missed- but there is adequate strength within the defensive ranks to compensate for his loss.
Prediction:
There is a number of reasons that the Jaguars fanbase should feel rather confident going into the season. That is a statement you could rarely say in the recent history of the franchise. However, the AFC continues to stockpile the majority of the talent and with possible resurgences from new-look Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans and a stronger Titans side, The AFC South will not be a walk in the park. Notwithstanding that, I am going to be cautiously optimistic and predict the Jaguars will finish with a 13-4 record; topping the AFC South and culminating in a loss in the Conference Championship of the AFC- another strong step towards an impending inaugural Super Bowl in the close future.