By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Jacksonville Jaguars in a relatively short period of time have become an AFC Title contender.

In 2022 the Jags won a playoff game over the Chargers and lost a close divisional playoff to Kansas City on the road. KC went on to win the Super Bowl. The Jaguars won the AFC South in 2022.

Looking ahead to the upcoming 2023 season outside of Jacksonville it looks like a total rebuild for the AFC South.

Tennessee looks to be at a crossroads with age creeping in on a roster that folded down the stretch in 2022. QB is an issue for the Titans so they went out and drafted Will Levis from Kentucky. Well, Levis is no Trevor Lawrence and all Jaguar fans saw the struggle in Lawrence’s rookie season.

Houston has hired a new head coach and drafted C.J. Stroud at QB from Ohio State with the second overall pick.

They addressed the pass rush in trading back up into the top five and taking Will Anderson from Alabama.

This roster still needs a lot of work. Houston is still a couple of years away from competing for an AFC South Championship.

Indianapolis drafted the athletic ability of Anthony Richardson out of Florida as their future QB with the fourth overall selection in the first round.

Can Richardson’s gifted skill set be more effective in the NFL? He could wow you with great plays at Florida but that did not translate into winning big games or games in general.

With all three teams in your division drafting quarterbacks for the future then Jacksonville should be a heavy favorite in the AFC South, correct?

In the April draft Jacksonville was very active in the draft in trading down for additional picks. Most NFL draft experts graded Jacksonville in the B range overall, so the roster has improved. Look at the first four picks Jacksonville made all at position of need on their roster:

Round 1, Pick 27 (From BUF)

Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma: The Jaguars went into protect the franchise mode and drafted Harrison. Offensive line is a position of need for the team, and it got addressed in the first round.

Round 2, Pick 61 (From CHI via SF via CAR)

Brenton Strange, TE, Penn State: TE is also a position of need for the team that got addressed in the early rounds.

Round 3, Pick 88

Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn: I think Bigsby is one of the steals of this draft. Tank played on some bad Auburn teams in his three years on The Plains but was the SEC Freshman of the year in 2020. Now paired with Travis Etienne in the Jaguars backfield gives the offense another weapon.

Round 4, Pick 121 (From TB)

Ventrell Miller, LB, Florida: Miller was a bright spot on a bad defense at UF. This kid is productive and fills a need at the position.

If you look at the Jaguars offense you see:

QB: Trevor Lawrence: Lawrence is a top ten QB in the NFL and will continue to rise in those rankings.

WR: Calvin Ridley joins a dynamic group of WR’s.

RB: Etienne and Bigsby. This will be a dynamic pair of backs.

OL: Addressed in 2023 draft.

On defense the team has built this unit through the draft, and it can be a championship caliber unit.

Doug Pederson is an elite head coach roaming the sidelines in Jacksonville. He has this team in position to compete for a championship.

The schedule is tough. Two back-to-back games in London with the Falcons and Bills.

The home schedule is the best in years with Kansas City, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Baltimore all coming to the River City.

I see this team winning 12-13 games in 2023. Get your season tickets Jaguar fans this will be a fun season. The Jacksonville Jaguars are AFC title contenders in 2023.