NFL Power Rankings, Week 1: Titans ink Clowney, Chiefs remain clear favorites
Even early in the 2020 offseason, people were talking about the Jacksonville Jaguars being the favorites to earn the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and likely land Trevor Lawrence. But at that time and with the hype around young quarterback Gardner Minshew, there were plenty in the “this team could be better than expected” crowd.
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Those voices have since been quelled. It’s been a firesale in Duval County over the past year with A.J. Bouye, Jalen Ramsey and Calais Campbell all sent away at one point. Then most recently, the Jaguars released Leonard Fournette, traded Yannick Ngakoue to the Vikings and then traded Ronnie Harrison to the Browns.
Jacksonville is clearly in a mode in which they are stockpiling draft picks for the future. Some would call it tanking but, whatever term you choose, it’s obvious that winning games this season isn’t exactly at the top of the list of priorities for the Jaguars right now.
The aforementioned Minshew will continue to be an exciting and fun story, one that could end up landing the Jaguars more draft capital in a future trade. And there are also young pieces that offer intrigue on this roster, whether that’s D.J. Chark, Josh Allen or members of the rookie class. But this roster in its current state will be lucky if they manage to win more than one game this season.