On October 6, I think I hit a new high in my life while walking out of EverBank Stadium shortly after the Jaguars stunned the Chiefs on Monday Night football by a score of 31-28. I hugged strangers in Jaguars jerseys, googled how much Super Bowl tickets cost, and shouted “DUUUUVALLLLL” until I practically lost my voice.
On October 19, I thought I hit a new low in my life after I woke up to an ESPN notification alerting me that the Los Angeles Rams just scored their third straight touchdown on the Jaguars to go up 21-0.
I have watched almost every snap of Jaguar football this year. There have been many moments where I was proud to be a Jaguar fan, but also some moments that made me want to donate all my merch to my local Goodwill.
Entering this season, the Jaguars had some question marks around them due to many reasons—one of which being the new coaching staff. In shocking fashion, everyone the Jags hired were young and inexperienced with their new job titles. On top of inexperience, they are all very young. Right now, the hot trend in football is to hire a young staff. Look at some of the best teams in the NFL right now: Eagles, Rams, Colts, Bills, and Packers. The common theme among them is that they all have young coaches. I’m not saying that an old coach is a bad thing, but their time is almost up. Heck, we’ve even seen Grandpa Reid in Kansas City start to digress in his old age.
When the news broke that Liam Coen signed an extension with the Buccaneers, I was devastated. Ever since the Jaguars fired Doug Pederson, Coen was by far my favorite to take the head coach job. The whole event revolving around his hiring here in Jacksonville was so bizarre, and I’m so thankful he got hired. So far, I think he has been a good coach. I have been a fan of his schemes, creativity, and most importantly, his passion. During the Bengals game when the broadcast cut to Coen screaming at QB Trevor Lawrence to hit his WRs in the chest, it made me feel proud because of how passionate Coen is. Granted, some playcalls have had me scratching my head at times, but he’s led us to a winning record through 8 weeks, so I’m not complaining too much.
The other major hire this offseason was 34-year-old James Gladstone as General Manager, and I think that he has also been a slam dunk so far. What I feel separates Gladstone from our previous GMs is that Gladstone is not afraid to go out and make a big move. I knew something was different about him when Gladstone said in a press conference, “When there’s an opportunity to be bold, we’re not going to flinch.”
One of the first moves he made was arguably the most gutsy move of the entire offseason by trading up with the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft to select WR/CB superstar Travis Hunter. Another thing I appreciated about that move is how secret the Jaguars really kept it. Up until the actual moment the news of the trade broke, nobody had a clue about what the Jaguars were going to do, even though the trade had been agreed to two weeks before that night. Gladstone said in a press conference that his goal was to “raise the floor” of the roster and target players that are “intangibly rich.” At this trade deadline, I expect Gladstone to be active and go target a position that has been struggling this year, such as offensive line or wide receiver.
Another bright spot this year has been Travis Hunter. Hunter was having a strong start to his career, until he suffered a non-contact knee injury during the bye week. Before his injury, I think he was the most consistent player on both sides of the ball. My only critique for him is something he cannot control: his playing time. If you go back and watch his college games, you would see him on the field almost every play, offense or defense. If the Jags are serious about making the playoffs this year, they need to have Hunter on the field often when he returns from injury.
The biggest issue the Jaguars have faced so far has undoubtedly been the drops. Through nine games, the Jags lead the NFL in dropped passes with 25, which leads to a 9.9% chance on every ball thrown. Brian Thomas Jr., the supposed “star,” leads the NFL in individual drops with a total of nine. A not-so-fun fact is that if the Jaguars had no drops this season, Trevor Lawrence would be top 10 in completion percentage and third in completions.
Thankfully, the Jags addressed the drop issue at the trade deadline by acquiring former Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers. Meyers’ is known for not dropping the football. His drop rate is 5.6%, which ranks #1 on the Jaguars. Last year, he finished with 126 targets and zero drops… so that’s really promising. Sure, the Jaguars did give up some good draft capital, but I think this trade means that the Jaguars are ready to win now.
The other self-inflicted issue has been penalties. The Jags are also the fourth most penalized team in the NFL, and have played one more game than the three above them. It feels like since week two, we’ve been asking for them to fix the drops and penalties, but absolutely nothing has happened. When you really think about it, it’s a miracle we’ve won 5 games with those numbers. If they can tidy up those things, I think we’ve got something special here.
Looking ahead, the Jaguars have a fairly easy schedule. According to tankathon.com, they have the sixth-easiest strength of schedule remaining. Our remaining opponents have a combined losing record. Considering we’re still the Jaguars, it’s obviously going to be an uphill battle. But, if we fix the penalties, drops, and (hopefully) stay injury-free, I like our odds this time around. And who knows… maybe if they do well, I’ll start looking into Super Bowl tickets again.
