Jaguars Make Appearance Near the Bottom of PFT's Preseason Power Rankings

Unsurprisingly, ProFootballTalk has the Jacksonville Jaguars in nearly last place in their preseason power rankings.

It has been hard to find many national power rankings ahead of the 2020 NFL season that represents the Jacksonville Jaguars in a positive light, and it isn't getting any easier as training camp approaches. 

The team pegged by many to be contending for the No. 1 overall pick, the Jaguars have had to fight off negative speculation about their upcoming season all offseason, as reflected in ProFootballTalk's freshly-released 2020 preseason power rankings. 

Jacksonville didn't quite take the bottom spot at No. 32, but they weren't far behind the Washington football club when it came to a low ranking, finishing at No. 31. 

The teams ranked directly above the Jaguars are the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins -- all teams the Jaguars had a better record than last season when they finished 6-10. 

Of course, many expect for the Jaguars to take a step back, even when considering they weren't exactly a good team last year. The Jaguars lost a few key veterans in Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye, and the move to trade Nick Foles in favor of starting second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew is one that will likely dictate whether Jacksonville has a successful season or instead end up closer to being the 31st best team in the league. 

Jacksonville has finished as one of the two worst teams on two occasions: following a 4-12 season in their inaugural season in 1995, and following a 2-14 finish in 2012. Since 2010, the Jaguars have won three games or fewer on three occasions (2012, 2014, 2016), but the Jaguars typically get a top-5 pick as opposed to one of the draft's top picks. 

“I think it should put a chip on everybody’s shoulder on our team, know being kind of counted out like that," Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew said in May when asked about the outside expectations for the team.

"I think we do have a lot to prove, prove that we are not what anybody says about us, the only people that really know, the only peoples whose opinions matter is who is in that huddle, who is on that team and I think we are going to set those expectations for ourselves and not worry about what anybody else has to say about us.”

In the last two seasons, the Jaguars have a 11-21 record and the once-great defense has completely eroded as a result of roster turnover. Jacksonville has finished in last place in the AFC South in the last two seasons following a first place finish in 2017 during a 10-6 season. 

As for the rest of the AFC South, the Houston Texans came in ranked No. 17 on PFT's power rankings, the Indianapolis Colts are No. 16 and the Tennessee Titans are No. 8.