Liam Coen Highlights Players to Watch vs. Panthers

The Jacksonville Jaguars opened as favorites against the Carolina Panthers for their Week 1 clash in the 2025 NFL season opener. That was both a reflection of the optimism surrounding the Jags for this first year of their new era and the doubt around the Panthers at this current stage in their rebuild.

Things have only trended in the right direction for Jacksonville since then, including the Panthers losing wide receiver Jalen Coker to short-term IR.

This was a huge loss for Carolina, especially after trading Adam Thielen back to the Minnesota Vikings, and its addition of Hunter Renfrow to fill the hole in its depth chart hasn't seemed to inspire much confidence.

The Jags have received another bump in odds, going from -156 on the moneyline at the end of August to -196 on FanDuel just days ahead of kickoff. Liam Coen doesn't want to overlook his team's Week 1 opponents, though, a wise move for a first-time head coach in the NFL.

Chuba Hubbard, NFL, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lavonte David — Dec 1, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) runs as Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) defends in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Panthers are still dangerous

Even after the loss of Jalen Coker, the Carolina Panthers still have plenty of talent to make this an interesting debut for the new-look Jacksonville Jaguars.

Coming over as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator last season, Head Coach Liam Coen got some invaluable first-hand experience against the Panthers in 2024.

He knows better than anyone on the team what Carolina can do. Speaking to Jacksonville media, he highlighted a few of the Jaguars' underrated upcoming opponents:

"I think that the runners, the combination of those two runners... last year they didn't really have that second guy always, and Chuba [Hubbard] had to do so much of the load, and now they've got Rico [Dowdle] in the mix. That's something that is going to be new for me to see as a coach, coaching against them, that I think could only be something that they're happy about and an advantage that way for them, in terms of having two backs that you feel like can both run physically and impact the game."

During media availability, #Jaguars HC Liam Coen called the #Panthers top-two TEs (Ja'Tavion Sanders and Tommy Tremble 'underappreciated.'

"I think that the tight ends are two players that are a little bit maybe underappreciated and I think can have some good years." 🧵🧵🧵
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) September 5, 2025

"Then, I think that the tight ends are two players that are a little bit maybe underappreciated, and I think can have some good years as well. I think that we don't know the impact, obviously, of [EDGE] Derrick Brown coming back and [safety] Tre’von Moehrig. So, they've got some guys that you definitely need to pay attention to, understand where they are on the field, because they can impact the game.”

The Panthers' receiving corps may be limited coming into Week 1, but they've got an exciting young backfield between quarterback Bryce Young and running back Chuba Hubbard that the Jaguars will have to work hard to contain. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks to have a favorable matchup against Carolina's defense, but he'll still need to be on his A-game to ensure that Jacksonville starts its 2025 season on the right foot.

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