It’s officially that time of the year when analysts make bold predictions and claims about the upcoming football season, and Tennessee Titans fans will surely love this take from a Sports Illustrated writer.
The team over at SI recently published a piece identifying which NFL teams are the least improved. While this is the type of list Titans fans are accustomed to seeing their team on, the SI team has a surprise this time.
Each SI writer chose one team, and Albert Breer picked the Jacksonville Jaguars. Backing up his pick, Breer offered the following:
I was bullish on the Jags as a Super Bowl darkhorse last year, and that didn’t work out. And I think, on a few fronts, they spun their wheels this offseason preparing to open the vault for Trevor Lawrence.
They swapped out Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones for Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis. They signed Darnell Savage, who Green Bay replaced with Xavier McKinney, to take Rayshawn Jenkins’s spot. I like Arik Armstead on the defensive line, and Mitch Morse and Ezra Cleveland on the offensive line, but I’m not sure, especially given the age of Armstead and Morse, how much those additions move the needle.
Basically, Breer is down on the Jaguars because of the seemingly lateral moves made by the team.
The Titans contributed to the Jaguars’ lackluster offseason season by stealing away star receiver Calvin Ridley. Another reason for Breer’s pessimism is the improvements made by the other three AFC South teams.
What makes Jacksonville’s offseason worse is how aggressive the other teams in the AFC South were in building around their young quarterbacks. That, of course, all puts a little more on Lawrence to make up the difference. I think he’s capable of elevating to the next level. But it’s tough being in a position where you need that to happen.
Titans fans certainly wouldn’t mind if Breer ends up being right. The Jaguars had a chance to make the playoffs in 2023, but a loss to the Titans in Week 18 ended any of those hopes.
In 2024, the Titans and Jaguars play for the first time in Week 14, and then again in Week 17.
