The ESSENTIAL Football Show 
Top 51 Cap Space (per Spotrac): 2026: $8.5 million | 2027: -$28.7 million | 2028: $75.3 million
Draft Picks: 2027: 1-7 | 2028: 1-7
Football Decision Makers: GM | HC Liam Coen | OC Grant Udinski | DC Anthony Campanile | ST Heath Farwell
State of the Team
The statement applies to a lot of teams in the AFC, but despite a first-round playoff exit against the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a shot to contend for the AFC Title in 2025. It was a definite process during their first year under head coach Liam Coen, but the Jaguars came out the other side of it with the offense firing on all cylinders and the defense exceeding expectations.
There’s nothing to guarantee this carries over to 2026, but the Jags have a lot of reasons to believe; Coen, who previously did a tremendous job with Tampa Bay’s offensive line, got the most out of this group last season and should continue to help them thrive, while a healthy Brian Thomas plus a full year of Jakobi Meyers and the “fully evolved” version of Parker Washington give Trevor Lawrence - who is still finding new heights as a player - plenty of weapons heading into 2026. On defense, the tandem of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker provides a strong anchor up front, and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile did a great job scheming things up last season.
The Jaguars are committed to this version of the roster, with little cap space this year and a need to move some things around in 2027, but that doesn’t seem like a bad thing; we could quibble about the depth in the back end on defense, or the lack of a surefire answer at running back, but this team has everything it needs to compete for AFC South Titles for the foreseeable future, regardless of what happens with Travis Hunter.
Offense
Jacksonville took a lot of heat for taking blocking tight end Nate Boerkicher in the second round, but if Boerkicher pans out, it could open this offense up in some unexpected ways.
As it stands, the Jaguars have four “adequate” starters on the offensive line with one star - right tackle Anton Harrison is a stud, but Cole Van Lanen, Ezra Cleveland, Rob Hainsey, and Patrick Mekari are not moving the needle. The Jags added guard Emmanuel Pregnant to the mix in the third round, but without an obvious way to upgrade on any of their starting linemen with their second round pick, Boerkicher is an interesting choice to expand their run game and the ability to control the edges on the wide runs that Bhayshul Tuten should have the explosiveness to excel on. Add in Chris Rodriguez as a more physical complement to what Tuten brings, and I think we could see a more effective Jaguars run game in 2026.
At receiver, Brian Thomas looms as the X-Factor; given the reports and his rookie film, I’m inclined to chalk last year’s struggles up to injury. Thomas is immensely talented, and if he can rediscover his form as an elite option with the ability to handle on-ball “X” receiver duties, it could take this offense into overdrive. Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers complement each other brilliantly as interchangeable slot/off-ball options, and Brenton Strange is a terrific option as a move tight end; if Thomas regains his status as a true ace rather than simply rounding out the four-some as a deep threat, Trevor Lawrence might wind up pushing for MVP.
The Jags could also get Travis Hunter in the mix - more on him on later - but this offense doesn’t need a gimmick. They are deep, explosive, and have options at every level; with Coen’s play-calling putting the offensive line in an advantageous position, Lawrence should be able to deal this year.
Defense
If you look at the names on Jacksonville’s defense, there aren’t many that pop off the page despite last year’s success; I’d argue that’s a testament to (1) the ability of a good defensive line to make life easier on everyone and (2) the ability of edge Travon Walker and defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton to keep opposing run games in check and the defense in advantageous situations.
That’s not to undersell the importance of Josh Hines-Allen, a borderline elite player who fills a critical role as their premier pass rusher, so much as it is to emphasize the importance of what Walker and Hamilton bring to the table. Their ability to control space in the front dictates what is available to the offense, and what the rest of the defense has to do; for a linebacker like Foyesade Oluokun, who possesses outstanding range if not the best downhill instincts, this is a huge plus.
The rest of the backend leaves you feeling “meh”; Ventral Miller is an underwhelming option at off-ball linebacker, and while you don’t expect any of the players in the secondary to get you beat, it’s also hard to see any of them competing for All-Pro Honors. If Travis Hunter can’t handle full-time cornerback snaps next to Montaric Brown and Jourdan Lewis, questions do open up; Jarrian Jones can slot in as the third corner, but there’s little depth behind him. The addition of 3rd-round safety Jalen Huskey to go with the starting tandem of Eric Murray and Antonio Johnson could allow the Jags to live more out of big nickel, but I assume they’d like to have that as a preference rather than their only option.
All in all, the Jags seem like they may be hard-pressed to keep up with some of their metrics from last year. It’s all well and good to play well within scheme, but there isn’t a lot of talent here, and barring the emergence of 3rd and 4th-round picks, it’s hard to see them having a lot of depth. The line should do their part, but an injury to Josh Hines-Allen or Travon Walker could have an outsized impact on their results.
Final Takeaways
For my money, the Jags seem as well-positioned as anyone to push for the AFC crown in 2026.
The one thing I’ll flag - and they ultimately didn’t need this player to win last year - is that the Travis Hunter situation seems dicey. Reporting indicates that the Jags planned to have him focus on corner, but that suggestion didn’t go great once he was in the building.
Whether that’s true or not, I think Hunter needs to prove he can excel at one position before he tries to play both ways. There were flashes - Hunter is exceptionally quick - but he also has deficiencies on both sides of the ball, and Coen’s recent quote (paraphrasing) that they “want him to learn part of the offense, not all of it” suggests he was mentally overwhelmed last year, which lines up with the film.
At the end of the day, Hunter isn’t Ja’Marr Chase, and he isn’t Patrick Surtain. He isn’t an elite NFL athlete, and he has missed significant time with injury in two of his last three seasons (his two seasons at CU-Boulder included). There is absolutely no reason for him to be playing both sides of the ball until he proves he can excel on one.
That brings me to my final point; as good a job as Coen and the coaching staff have done getting, in no particular order, the quarterback, the offensive line, the defensive line, and the defense as a whole on track, James Gladstone’s player acquisition process leaves a lot to be desired. He paid market price to acquire Meyers, and the only starters from a 2025 draft that appeared pivotal at the time are the mercurial Hunter and Bhaysul Tuten, whose frame will probably force him to a complementary role long term.
It’s a bizarrely vindicating statement for former GM Trent Baalke, who I didn’t think was doing a particularly good job at the time, but the story of the current Jaguars is a lot closer to how Liam Coen made Baalke’s roster work than how Gladstone transformed the talent. That could change quickly - we’re only one year in - and the Hunter situation is a long way from the Tim Tebow circus, but I think at some point, Hunter needs to earn this opportunity at the NFL level rather than the perception of what he did at CU, and his rookie tape doesn’t indicate that he’s done that.