Jaguar Report

Fantasy Takeaways from Jaguars Week 1 Win vs. Panthers

The Jacksonville Jaguars cruised to a 26-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in their 2025 NFL season debut. What did we learn about their fantasy prospects?
Andy Quach|
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) reacts after scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) reacts after scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars dominated the Carolina Panthers throughout their 2025 NFL season debut, easily cruising to a 26-10 victory. This game answered a lot of questions for the team in their first outing of a brand-new era.

Liam Coen walked away from his first contest as an NFL head coach undefeated. The creative play-calling was on display. There are some things he'll have to work on with his team, including third-down conversions and discipline to avoid setbacks from penalties, but the Jaguars mostly came away with positive building blocks for him to work with moving forward.

Jacksonville got plenty of offense against Carolina, garnering 378 total yards on 10 drives, finishing with two touchdowns, four field goals, and one turnover. Here are the most important fantasy football takeaways from the Jaguars' W over the Panthers.

Jaguars have several solid fantasy options

Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, NFL, Trevor Lawrence, Trevin Wallace
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) carries the ball as Carolina Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace (32) defends during the second half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

1. Trevor Lawrence will be fine

Trevor Lawrence may not have had the electric debut in Head Coach Liam Coen's offense that many were expecting, but he did exactly what he had to do to get the win. His one turnover came on an insane one-handed grab from Jaycee Horn at the peak of his vertical while backpedaling.

T-Law finished with just 178 yards on 17-of-31 passing with one touchdown to one interception. The Jaguars will likely cut down on the drops and improve on third downs as they progress in Coen's system. I wouldn't give up on Lawrence's potential as a high-ceiling fantasy QB2.

2. Brian Thomas Jr. will get going

Brian Thomas Jr. was the culprit on multiple drops for the Jaguars, a recurring problem for him from last season and this past training camp. However, it was encouraging to see Coen go out of his way to try to get his WR1 going. BTJ should return to being an elite fantasy wideout soon.

Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, NFL, Travis Hunter Jr., Trevin Wallace, Christian Rozeboom
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) is tackled by Carolina Panthers linebacker Christian Rozeboom (56) and linebacker Trevin Wallace (32) during the second half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

3. Travis Hunter Jr. could be a rookie fantasy star

Thomas Jr. may have struggled, but Travis Hunter Jr. made his presence felt right away. He only finished with 33 yards and didn't find the end zone, but he grabbed six balls on the day with eight targets.

He was also used pretty sparingly on defense, confirming his role as an offensive weapon first for this Jaguars team. He projects to be a PPR and YAC monster as a possession receiver in Coen's scheme.

4. Travis Etienne Jr. is back

Travis Etienne Jr. was by far the best offensive player for the Jaguars in their season debut, finishing with 156 yards from scrimmage with 16 carries and three catches. As advertised, Jacksonville did use all of their running backs, but ETN was easily the lead back in Week 1. After that performance, he should continue to get the bulk of the workload until someone else earns it.

Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, NFL, Brenton Strange, Tre'von Moehrig
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) is tackled by Carolina Panthers safety Tre'von Moehrig (7) during the first quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

5. Brenton Strange is a thing

There was a lot of talk about first-year starter Brenton Strange becoming a legitimate fantasy tight end this season. He proved why against Carolina, catching all four of his targets for 59 yards. Clearly, he's a feature part of this offense and could have had a truly monstrous debut if fellow tight end Hunter Long didn't get the lone touchdown catch of the day instead.

Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley to keep up with all of our Jaguars' fantasy updates throughout the 2025 NFL season.

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Andy Quach
ANDY QUACH

Andy Quach is a journalism graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University with extensive experience covering the NFL, NBA, and college sports. He is the assistant beat writer for the Jacksonville Jaguars Om SI, and also serves as the fantasy sports and betting reporter for four NFL teams.