The Jacksonville Jaguars were tied for the worst record in the league last season at 2-14 and despite that accomplishment the team had the second overall pick in the draft behind the Kansas City Chiefs and now enters 2013 as the number 32 ranked team in Sports World Reports preview of the upcoming NFL season. The full list will be revealed as each team counts down.
The Jaguars may have come in a few places higher had they signed Tim Tebow, as they would be a more exciting and yes, believe it or not, a more talented team, but after avoiding that media nightmare, the team is moving forward with Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne as the options at quarterback. The QB situation is one reason why the team comes in at number 32 on the list and the other reason is the void in talent on the roster overall compared to other teams.
It's not to say that the Jags don't have talented players on the roster, but compared to a team like let's say the Seahawks, there is much to be desired. Maurice Jones-Drew is an elite player when he is healthy and not punching security guards in the face, while Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon make a solid duo at wide receiver, although Blackmon has had his own troubles. The team should be better on offense this season after drafting Luke Joeckel with the number two overall pick out of Texas A&M as well as Ace Sanders and Denard Robinson, but it will be tough to compete in a division with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans.
The Jaguars showed some flashes of brilliance last season in their 43-37 overtime loss against those same Texans and even though the team dropped to 1-9 with the defeat, a number of players showed the team was they are capable of when things are going right. The defense was a mess, but that was always the case, but the real revelations were Blackmon and Henne, who were connecting all day after the quarterback came in for an injured Gabbert. Henne threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns while Blackmon had seven catches for 236 yards and one touchdown while averaging 33 yards per catch. While that offense is something unsustainable for the Jaguars as currently constructed, that game showed that the team could put that together more often in 2013.
The team has a new head coach in Gus Bradley and a semi-new owner in Shad Khan and with the Jaguars playing games in London over the next few seasons, the franchise will never be more visible. The team is better after adding Terrance Knighton, Roy Miller, Brandon Deaderick, Kyle Love, Paul Posluszny, Jeremy Mincey, Jason Babin and Andre Branch as well as draft picks like Sanders, Joeckel, Robinson and Johnathan Cyprien from Florida International and while they won't be a playoff team, the record should improve in 2013.
Projection: Jags go 4-12 this season with big numbers for Jones-Drew if healthy.
Full Rankings from SWR:
No. 32: Jacksonville Jaguars
No. 31: ?? Coming Soon!
