Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) tries to throw a pass under pressure by Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Kyle Van Noy (8) during the second half of an NFL wild-card football game, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Jaguars Set for Preseason Opener Against Cowboys

As the calendar turns to August, football season is finally here. The Jacksonville Jaguars will open their preseason on Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

After a 9-8 season and an AFC South division title a year ago, the Jaguars are hoping to make a deep playoff run in 2023.

Looking Back at 2022

In Doug Pederson’s first year as head coach, he led the Jaguars to their first winning season and division title since 2017. After four straight seasons of winning six or less games, Pederson brought his winning ways to Jacksonville.

In the playoffs, the Jaguars edged out the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in the wild card round. They then lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence took a big step forward in his second professional season. He threw for over 4,000 yards, had a touchdown to interception ratio of 25-8 and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. This was a huge improvement from his rookie season where he threw 17 interceptions and had just 12 touchdowns.

Jaguars’ Draft Class

Jacksonville has a young core that has been getting better each year. They improved this core during the NFL Draft in April. The Jaguars decided to go heavy on the offense in the first few rounds as they selected an offensive lineman, tight end and running back in rounds one, two and three.

The Jaguars’ first round pick, Anton Harrison is an offensive tackle from Oklahoma. He was very high up on all the big boards and has impressed at camp thus far. He is listed as the starting right tackle in Jacksonville’s preseason depth chart.

Brenton Strange was selected in the second round; he adds much needed tight end depth behind Evan Engram, who Jacksonville franchise tagged in the offseason. Tank Bigsby, a running back out of Auburn, was the third round selection for the Jaguars. He has been very impressive at training camp. He is listed second in the depth chart behind Travis Etienne Jr. The Jags’ running back group is one that is very promising going into 2023.

Jacksonville took former Gator linebacker Ventrell Miller in the fourth round. After playing his entire collegiate career at Florida, Miller has his sights set on producing in the NFL.

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Ready for the New Season

With the offseason coming to a close, the Jaguars are prepped for another great season. In an AFC South division that is one of the weakest in football, Jacksonville has a good chance of repeating as division champs.

The Jaguars will play their first preseason game on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET against the Cowboys. They will begin the regular season on September 10 against the Indianapolis Colts.

About Hugh Green

Hugh is a third year student majoring in Journalism: Sports and Media at the University of Florida.

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