The Jacksonville Jaguars are ready to roll! That's right! After cleaning house and revamping the roster in the offseason, the Jags are ready to make noise in 2025. Sure, they're projected to win just 7.5 wins next season, and the division still runs through the Houston Texans.
Having said that, Jacksonville made enough changes since the end of the 2024 season to make you think that there's a chance. For starters, Doug Pederson got the boot, and Liam Coen now calls the shots. Together with the general manager James Gladstone, he's done a great job of bringing in intangibly rich players to the program.
On top of that, Trevor Lawrence is expected to bounce back, and players such as edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen and Brian Thomas Jr. are still around. When you add it all up, the Jaguars have a legitimate shot at making a run at the AFC South. With this in mind, here are three bold predictions for Jacksonville next season.
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Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen will combine for 35 sacks
Josh Hines-Allen logged 17.5 sacks in 2023, while Travon Walker has logged a combined 20.5 the past two years. Having lost weight after being asked to bulk up last year, the pass-rush duo is back at their natural weight. Moreover, defensive coordinator Ryan Nelson is gone, and the Jags hired the no-nonsense Anthony Campanile to replace him.
With Campanile a the helm, expect Hines-Allen to recapture his 2023 form and Walker to set a new career high for sacks in a season. This will lead the Jacksonville pass-rush tandem to register a total of 35 sacks in 2025.
Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. will earn a First-Team All-Pro Designation
Brian Thomas Jr. was the best receiver to come out of the 2024 NFL Draft despite the fact that he was fourth off the board. His 1,282 yards ranked third in the league at the position, and he was even a Pro Bowl alternate.
What makes the former LSU Tiger's success even more impressive is the fact that he had to routinely face double teams and caught passes from Mac Jones for nearly half the season. With Dyami Brown and Travis Hunter in the mix, defenses will no longer be able to zero in on him. Moreover, Trevor Lawrence is under center once again.
Now, Thomas is ready to join the upper echelon of receivers in the NFL by earning his first First-Team All-Pro selection of his career. You could make the case that Brown and Hunter will eat up some of his targets, and you would be right.
Then again, Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase have also played with other talented wideouts and have still managed to get the nod. Thomas will join them both in 2025.
The Jaguars will have a top-5 quarterback in Trevor Lawrence
Much has been said about Trevor Lawrence's improvement under Liam Coen. Heck, several respected analysts even expect him to reclaim his place as a top-10 quarterback in 2025.
What hasn't been discussed often is that Lawrence played at an absurdly high level in 2022 and early in 2023 before he began to suffer a series of ailments. Fast forward to 2025, and there have been questions about the former Clemson Tiger's viability as a franchise quarterback.
Not only will Lawrence silence critics, but he'll be even better than he was in 2022. By the end of the regular season, he'll have joined the conversation as a potential top-5 quarterback.
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