The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX to close the 2025-26 NFL season. The new league year begins on March 11 (see more important offseason dates here).
We rounded up way-too-early
2026 NFL power rankings to get a sense of how much respect the Jaguars have earned over the past several months.
CBS Sports: 4
From Pete Prisco:
This young team is building toward something, and Liam Coen is the right guy for the job. They do have to find ways to improve their pass rush.
Bleacher Report: 6
From Brent Sobleski:
The Jaguars were playing as well as any team entering the postseason only to come up short in the Wild Card round against the Buffalo Bills. Despite the disappointing finish, Jacksonville is finally trending in the right direction after winning the AFC South outright and plenty of the excitement centers on quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Fox Sports: 7
From Ralph Vacchiano:
They’ve been a sleeping and underachieving giant for years, and Liam Coen’s rookie year is only the beginning. Even if they don’t get 13 wins again, they’re not going to fade away anytime soon.
USA Today: 7
From Nate Davis:
They’ve got some personnel issues to figure out, LB Devin Lloyd, RB Travis Etienne and most of the starting secondary headed for free agency. They also need to figure out the optimal role for WR/CB Travis Hunter after an injury-curtailed but disappointing rookie season. Still, hard not to be bullish on this squad following the quantum leap it made in Year 1 under rookie coach Liam Coen and revitalized QB Trevor Lawrence.
Yahoo Sports: 8
From Frank Schwab:
There’s almost nowhere for the Jaguars to go but down after a 13-win season. But Jacksonville shouldn’t fall too far if the strides we saw Trevor Lawrence make in Liam Coen’s offense are a sign of things to come. Getting Travis Hunter back after he missed most of the second half of the season due to injury will help too. The Jaguars don’t have their first-round pick due to that Hunter trade and aren’t in great cap shape, but the talent on hand is good enough to compete for another division title.
ESPN: 9
From Mike DiRocco:
The Jaguars did a good job of getting close to the quarterback in 2025 (222 pressures, ranked third), but not so much in getting the quarterback on the ground (32 sacks, ranked 27th). Fixing that will likely come either via trade or free agency because they don’t have a first-round pick after trading up for wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter in 2025. Their interior pass rush especially needs a boost (7.5 sacks, including 5.5 by defensive tackle Arik Armstead).
NFL.com: 9
From Eric Edholm:
Liam Coen has built up a pretty good stack of chips at the table with an unexpectedly good first season with the Jaguars, but you know how those things go. Now the expectations have been reset, and the Jaguars will mostly be treated as contenders as we wonder when the proverbial next step comes. The defense looks to be in good shape overall, far exceeding expectations yet buoyed with a solid base of talent. There’s even a case to be made for the passing game being a big plus, with Trevor Lawrence — albeit a bit inconsistently — delivering some big performances. But the run game kept waning in effectiveness down the stretch, so that could be an area of focus this offseason.
The Athletic: 9
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff:
Jacksonville won its last eight regular-season games before being bounced from the playoffs in a three-point loss to Buffalo. Including the postseason, this team had the fourth-best point margin in the league this season (plus-135).
Where would you rank the team, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!
