5 Keys to a Successful Season

After an abysmal 4-13 season the Jacksonville Jaguars moved on from Head Coach Doug Pedersen and GM Trent Baalke. They'll look to rebound this year under new HC Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone. Here's 5 things the Jags will need to do to improve on last years record:

1. It's been said before and I'll say it again. It all starts with QB Trevor Lawrence protecting the football better. He's been one of the most turnover prone quarterbacks in the NFL since the start of his career. Lawrence had 14 INTs in 2023 and was on pace for another 14 INTs last year before injuries ended his season. Coen's new scheme should provide Lawrence more open receivers and give him some easier completions. It'll be up to Lawrence to make the right reads and give his team more opportunities to win the turnover battle.

   
   

2. Run the ball early and often. Jacksonville will have one of, if not the deepest, running back rooms in the NFL this year. They kept four running backs on the initial 53 man roster for a reason. Coen and Gladstone love the potential of all four of those guys and should give them plenty of work. Too many times under Pedersen the Jags seemed to totally abandon the run game and leave things all on the arm of Trevor Lawrence. This made them one dimensional and easy to plan against. Coen will need to stick with the run game and figure out a way to get all four guys in that backfield involved.

   
   

3. The return of Sacksonville! Ok so the pass rush doesn't need to be THAT good but they'll need to be much better than they have been the last two years. The D-line as a whole will need to step up and help Walker and JHA this season. GM James Gladstone finally addressed edge depth this year and the addition of Emmanuel Ogbah and the return of Duane Smoot should provide a nice rotation at DE. Another key could be Arik Armstead moving back inside full time. He was mostly on the edge last year where he was very ineffective. He's been much better pushing the pocket from the interior in his career which he'll have a chance to do this year.

4. Beat Houston. Too simple? Sure. But it's something the Jags will need to start doing consistently if they want to prove they're the top dog in the AFC South. Trevor Lawrence is just 2-6 in his career against the Texans and has had some of his worst performances against them. With Houston projected to have one of the best defenses in the NFL the Jacksonville offense and Lawrence will have to be at their best to beat them.

5. The O-line has to protect Trevor Lawrence. While Lawrence himself will need to better the O-line also needs to do their part to keep him upright. This WR room is loaded with guys who can go deep and run past people. One thing Lawrence has done well to start his career is throw the deep ball. The problem is you need the protection to hold up to take those deep shots and the O-line hasn't given him the time to fire those off. The Jags have plenty of big play potential but the O-line will have to do their part this year if they want to recognize that potential.

If new HC Liam Coen can get these 5 things out of the Jacksonville Jaguars this season they should be a much improved team this year. They've taken strides in the offseason to get better but now it's time to put it all out on the field and prove they can make a return to the playoffs this season. Stay tuned sports fans it's about to get interesting. Monday I'll drop my full season record predictions and next Friday I'll drop my in depth preview of the Jags first game vs the Carolina Panthers.