The Jacksonville Jaguars don’t get the respect they deserve. Sure, they rank 28th in market size and 30th in winning percentage among active NFL teams, but they were also ridiculed for hosting a Super Bowl and assumed to be London-bound — if not due for extinction. It’s not just that folks don’t care about the Jags. For whatever reason, they’re despised.
Look no further than the fact that Jacksonville is the ONLY team without a major Associated Press regular-season individual award.
Obviously, you need talent to win an award, and the Jaguars have struggled to find blue-chip players since the 1995 expansion draft. But you could make the case that Maurice Jones-Drew should’ve won OPOY in 2011. Or that Calais Campbell should’ve won DPOY in 2017. At the very least, Liam Coen should’ve won COTY last year.
Jacksonville hasn’t had much to boast about when it comes to the on-field product, but they should have some kind of hardware beyond Walter Payton Man of the Year, right?
The good news is the Jaguars finally have some star power. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, four different names have under 50-1 odds to win an award this season. They’re not exactly favorites, but they definitely aren’t longshots, either.
Hines-Allen could end up having the best season of that group, though I’d be shocked if national media doesn’t spend all its votes on defenders for the Los Angeles Rams and/or Houston Texans. Similarly, Lawrence could produce more yards and touchdowns than any other passer but still not get the necessary narrative push.
For any Jaguar to earn an award, the team would likely need to clinch the AFC No. 1 seed with a no-doubt-about-it performance in the regular season. It’s not very fair, but them’s the rules.
For more, check out the most recent episode of the Prowler Podcast with me and John Shipley.
If you were to wager on Jacksonville this year, what would be your favorite bet?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!