Yahoo Sports ranks Jaguars 19th best team in NFL

After a complete collapse last year, Yahoo Sports writer Frank Schwab has low expectations for the Jacksonville Jaguars heading into the 2024 season.

In the website’s offseason power rankings list, the Jags come in at No. 19. Schwab understands that much of last year’s disaster hinged on the various injuries suffered by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but even still, the team fell extremely short of expectations, and helped give rise to the Houston Texans.

If you criticize Trevor Lawrence, prepare to argue your case. There are many Lawrence guardians on social media who will perk up when the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback’s up-and-down NFL journey is mentioned. But has Lawrence performed like a $55 million-per-year quarterback to this point? Even his biggest defenders would have to pause before answering. Had Lawrence not suffered a high ankle sprain against the Bengals, perhaps the Jaguars wouldn’t have lost five of their last six games. Maybe they would have won the AFC South and some of the hype for C.J. Stroud would be redirected to Lawrence, who helped Jacksonville to the 2022 AFC South title. There might not have been such sticker shock on that contract extension. There are ways to talk yourself into Lawrence being everything he was expected to be coming out of Clemson. The Jaguars seem convinced. Now’s the time for Lawrence to show he’s worth the money.

The Texans are currently among the NFL’s top half of teams, as they have not yet appeared in Schwab’s rankings. The list will be complete by July 31. The Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts were ranked 27 and 17, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, pundits across the board are down on the Jags heading into this season. Schwab was unimpressed with how the team attempted to reshape its roster this offseason, handing the team a C- grade for its acquisitions and departures.

Much of the conversation, by Schwab and the at-large NFL landscape, essentially hinges on the question of whether Lawrence is really that guy or not. If one is to throw out his rookie year and much of last year due to injuries, the stat pool is limited at best and the arguments for and against go in circles. Schwab puts it well when he says the Jags are flawed, but better than what they displayed in the closing weeks of last year. With a healthy Lawrence, the Jags are capable of upper-level winning.

The Jaguars are a flawed team but maybe better than we remember. Lawrence seems likely to play well enough for the Jaguars to be competitive, then the rest depends on the team around him. For now, we’ll leave the Jaguars out of the playoffs in the AFC, but that might be an overreaction to what we saw late last season.

The Jags are the second favorites to win the division, behind the Texans. The small market team thrust its way into the national spotlight with its playoff run in 2022, and fell right back out due to its losing in 2023.

For 2024, things must even back out for the Jags to not only silence the doubters but to retake control of the AFC South.