The Jacksonville Jaguars have a strange kind of problem heading into 2026: the résumé says one thing, but the national conversation says another.
They’re coming off a 13-4 season, an AFC South title, and an MVP-like year from their franchise quarterback. And yet, when the offseason talent rankings rolled out, the Jaguars were barely part of the discussion. ESPN’s polling of the best players at every position left Jacksonville without a single top-10 player anywhere on the list.
That kind of result makes the Jaguars look lighter on star power than they actually are. It also raises a simple question: if Houston was credited with six top-10 players and Jacksonville with none, how did the Jaguars win the division and split the season series with the Texans? The Jaguars never even trailed Houston in regulation.
One answer is Liam Coen. If the talent gap were really as wide as those rankings suggest, the most logical explanation for Jacksonville’s edge would be the head coach. Coen had the Jaguars ready against a Texans team led by DeMeco Ryans, and even in the road loss where Jacksonville let a second-half lead slip away, Coen’s group still showed it could push Houston harder than any version of the Ryans-era Texans had seen.
That matters because production is part of the talent conversation, too. A number of Jaguars posted career-best seasons under Coen last year, and there’s no clear reason to assume that momentum has to stop now.
The money tells a similar story. In the NFL, salary doesn’t explain everything, but it usually points you toward the players teams value most.
On Jacksonville’s roster, that means Trevor Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen, and Travon Walker sit at the top. That’s not a controversial group.
It also suggests a few Jaguars are being undersold. Lawrence and tight end Brenton Strange stand out there.
The Jaguars wouldn’t have made Strange one of the top-paid tight ends in the league if they truly viewed him as the 22nd-best player at his position. And if Travis Hunter was ranked lower than his talent suggests, or Anton Harrison wasn’t ranked at all, that only strengthens the case that Jacksonville’s roster got shortchanged.
That’s the tax that comes with being a Jaguar. The franchise has spent too long outside the national spotlight, so even good teams in Jacksonville tend to get treated like they’re still waiting to prove themselves.
It’s not a new pattern, either. Tony Boselli waited far too long for the Hall of Fame, Fred Taylor was snubbed from Canton and got only one Pro Bowl nod, and the list goes on.
So yes, the Jaguars may not have gotten the same respect as the league’s most established brands. But that doesn’t mean they’re less talented. It means they’re still fighting for recognition.
And really, there’s only one thing that changes that for good: a Super Bowl run. Win the Lombardi, and nobody can ignore you. Anything less, and even a strong season can get buried under the noise of 31 disappointed teams.
That’s the next hurdle for Jacksonville under Coen. The Jaguars have already shown they can rise for a season.
They did it in 2017 and again in 2022, only to fail to carry that momentum forward. If they want the narrative to change, sustaining that success has to be the point this time.
In Other News...
Jaguars Rookie Pass Rusher Is Generating Serious Camp Buzz
Zach Durfee arrived in Jacksonville as a seventh-round pick with the kind of profile that can get a rookie noticed quickly in camp, especially on a team that has not been shy about elevating unproven players who flash in practice and the preseason. The Jaguars have found value before by giving those guys real chances, and Durfee has already drawn attention for the athletic tools and pass-rushing ability that made him an intriguing developmental defensive end.
Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has seen enough to point out that Durfee brings more than just edge speed, and that matters in a defensive end room with established names ahead of him. Even with the depth chart working against him, there is a clear opening for a rookie who can keep stacking strong days in camp and then carry that momentum into preseason reps, where young defenders often make their first real case for playing time. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Just Turned The Jaguars Core Into A Heated Debate
A recent ESPN trade-value exercise put a spotlight on how much talent Jacksonville has assembled, and it started with Trevor Lawrence. Bill Barnwells list of potential trade targets also included Josh Hines-Allen, Brian Thomas Jr., Travon Walker and Travis Hunter, a reminder that the Jaguars have several players whose value around the league goes well beyond a standard roster discussion.
Lawrence drew the most attention because Barnwell viewed him as the kind of asset who could command a massive return despite the uneven stretches that have come with years of coaching turnover. The bigger question for Jacksonville is less about whether these names carry real market value and more about what it says when so many of the teams core pieces show up in the same conversation, even if the exercise is only meant as analysis and not a prediction of actual deals. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunter Enters A Franchise Defining Year 2 Spotlight
Travis Hunter is already carrying a familiar kind of weight for a player who has yet to settle into his second NFL season. Jacksonville made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft with the expectation that he would change games on both sides of the ball, and the Jaguars have made it clear that plan is still intact. After a season cut short by a knee injury, Hunter has spent the offseason preparing mentally and physically while the franchise keeps him on the path of playing cornerback and receiver.
What makes this year especially interesting is how much more will be asked of him on defense. Hunter is viewed as one of the leagues top 10 players under pressure entering 2026, and that spotlight comes with the usual draft-pick expectations plus the added burden of justifying Jacksonvilles aggressive investment. The Jaguars believe he can handle both roles, but the next step is proving he can turn that promise into consistent impact, especially with his defensive responsibilities expected to grow. [Read more 🡒]