The Jacksonville Jaguars are just four years removed from a conference championship appearance, but it feels as though that 2017 campaign was decades ago. Three straight losing seasons followed that magical run, including a 1-15 campaign in 2020 which landed the Jaguars the No. 1 overall pick. The players that made up the dominant 2017 defense are gone and the Jaguars are again working in a new head coach and new quarterback. Still, the new additions are reasons to be excited for the Jaguars in 2021.
Jacksonville took a chance by hiring college football legend Urban Meyer, who has won three FBS national championships, and drafted former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the top pick. Two men who have had incredible success at the college level could orchestrate a quick turnaround for the Jaguars. That's at least what wide receiver D.J. Chark believes.
"The 1-15 season is somewhere that we don't want to go back. Everyone that's here understands that," Chark said during an interview on the NFL Network, via NFL.com. "The guys that came in came from a lot of winning programs so we're trying to develop that winning culture and just that camaraderie here and I think we're going to do really good. I think we're gonna shock a lot of people. I'm not one of the people that's huge on setting record goals or anything like that, or saying how many wins or losses we're gonna have but we're gonna be an exciting football team, for sure."
Chark has quickly gained respect for his new head coach, who was very blunt when expressing his dislike for Chark's 2020 film. Meyer described him as a "big guy that played little," and told him to get into the weight room. Chark did so and gained good weight, and said that he respects how Meyer is going to push him.
William Hill Sportsbook has the Jaguars' win total currently listed at O/U 6, with the juice on the Over (-140). Getting back to six wins this season would be a good start for this franchise, but it's very possible they are capable of more.
