Sportsbook Projects Jaguars With NFL's Worst Record in 2021

DraftKings Sportsbook has made it clear they see the Jaguars as the weakest team entering 2020, even below the Washington Redskins.

Last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars improved from 2018's 5-11 record and finished the season at 6-10. Finishing two games below .500 is no positive for any team, but for the Jaguars it was their most successful non-playoffs season in years. 

Despite last year's minor improvement, should the Jaguars be expected to regress in 2020 and finish among the NFL's worst teams? DraftKings Sportsbook believes so, setting the Jaguars over/under for wins at just 4.5, the lowest among all teams. 

The teams with the next lowest over/under totals are the Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, and Washington, all at 5.5. The Jaguars have never finished with the worst record in any individual NFL season, picking as high as only No. 2 overall in the team's 25 seasons as a franchise. 

When you consider what the Jaguars have lost since the beginning of last season with Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye, Jalen Ramsey, Marcell Dareus, and others, it makes sense for some the be pessimistic on the young and unproven roster the Jaguars are set to trot out in 2020. 

Jacksonville will also be starting second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew II one year after selecting him in the sixth-round of the NFL Draft. Minshew spent all of last year's training camp and preseason as the backup to Nick Foles but was thrust into a starting role when Foles went down with a clavicle injury in Week 1.

Minshew would eventually go back to the bench before replacing Foles once more, ultimately starting 12 games and compiling a 6-6 record, the best win/loss record of any rookie passer. While there is trepidation for many when it comes to Minshew, he was clearly the team's best quarterback in 2019 and gives them the best chance to win in this upcoming season. But ultimately, the Jaguars exceed DraftKings' expectations will largely hinge on Minshew and his right arm.

“I think it should put a chip on everybody’s shoulder on our team, know being kind of counted out like that," Minshew said in May. "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.”

When it comes to the rest of the AFC South, DraftKings set the Titans over/under at 8.5, the Colts over/under at 9, and the Texans over/under at 7.5, making it clear they see the Jaguars as the distant last place team.