Home › Football Betting › NFL Betting › Jacksonville Jaguars
At some point, having top five pick after top five pick in the NFL Draft has to yield something for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Between Luke Joeckel, Blake Bortles, Dante Fowler Jr., Jalen Ramsey and now, Leonard Fournette, the Jags have five men whom they should be building around. But with Bortles officially at the end of his rookie contract, there are questions as to whether he's going to be the man this franchise elects to build around in the future. This isn't so much a make-or-break year for the team in terms of wins and losses, but it will be the defining season in Bortles' career and will help the Jags determine if they want to go forward with him or try to head in a different direction in 2018 and beyond.
Jacksonville Jaguars Super Bowl Odds
Super Bowl Odds: +9000
AFC Championship Odds: +3500
AFC South Odds: +500
Odds Jaguars Make Playoffs: +400
Jaguars Regular Season Win Total: 6.5
No one is doubting all of the talent the Jaguars have amassed. They've got seven first-round picks in their projected starting lineup, and that doesn't even include a lot of the high-end second-round picks like Myles Jack, Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee.
Still, it just hasn't all come together yet for the Jags. It's hard to point at one position and say, "That's where Jacksonville needs to be better."
Except at quarterback.
Teams' fortunes are often decided by play at the quarterback spot, and when you spend a top five pick on a pivot, your franchise lives and dies by it. The fact that the Jaguars haven't been able to get out of the bottom five in the NFL since Bortles came to town is a real indictment on him, particularly since the AFC South has been notably weak in that span.
That's why this team flat out isn't one to be trusted by the oddsmakers and why it's a 90 to 1 longshot to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.
2017 Jacksonville Jaguars Schedule
Week 1: Jaguars at Texans – Sunday, September 10, 1 p.m. ET
Week 2: Jaguars vs. Titans – Sunday, September 17, 1 p.m. ET
Week 3: Jaguars vs. Ravens (Wembley Stadium) – Sunday, September 24, 9:30 a.m. ET
Week 4: Jaguars at Jets – Sunday, October 1, 1 p.m. ET
Week 5: Jaguars at Steelers – Sunday, October 8, 1 p.m. ET
Week 6: Jaguars vs. Rams – Sunday, October 15, 4:05 p.m. ET
Week 7: Jaguars at Colts – Sunday, October 22, 1 p.m. ET
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: Jaguars vs. Bengals – Sunday, November 5, 1 p.m. ET
Week 10: Jaguars vs. Chargers – Sunday, November 12, 1 p.m. ET
Week 11: Jaguars at Browns – Sunday, November 19, 1 p.m. ET
Week 12: Jaguars at Cardinals – Sunday, November 26, 4:25 p.m. ET
Week 13: Jaguars vs. Colts – Sunday, December 3, 1 p.m. ET
Week 14: Jaguars vs. Seahawks – Sunday, December 10, 1 p.m. ET
Week 15: Jaguars vs. Texans – Sunday, December 17, 1 p.m. ET
Week 16: Jaguars at 49ers – Sunday, December 24, 4:05 p.m. ET
Week 17: Jaguars at Titans – Sunday, December 31, 1 p.m. ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars Will Be a Success If…
... The combination of Doug Marrone and Tom Coughlin can change the culture in Jacksonville.
Really, ever since Jack Del Rio left Jacksonville, the whole franchise has sort of just accepted losing. Not only has this team had six consecutive picks in the top 5 of the NFL Draft, but it's had 10 straight years in the top 10. Five of those 10 picks aren't even on the team any longer.
Marrone and Coughlin are both no-nonsense guys who aren't going to take slacking on the field. The Jaguars have to become mentally tougher, and if that turns out to be the case, a lot of these close losses are going to turn into close wins sooner rather than later.
Remember that Jacksonville went 2-8 last year in games decided by seven points or fewer, and that came on the heels of 4-6 in such games in 2015.
The Jacksonville Jaguars Will Be a Failure If…
… Bortles finally finds himself on the bench once and for all.
There have been so many calls from fans these last few years about Bortles being stuck on the bench in favor of Chad Henne. Henne is what he is: a serviceable backup quarterback who can step in and rally a team if need be. But he isn't a starter in the NFL in the long run.
The Jaguars have done nothing to threaten Bortles, but Coughlin has made it quite clear that this is his make-or-break campaign.
Aside from having one of the worst winning percentages in the NFL amongst starting quarterbacks, Bortles has 51 picks in 56 career games. Almost a third of his touchdowns have been amassed with the team trailing by two scores or more in the fourth quarter, an unbelievably high percentage that fantasy footballers love and head coaches hate. Bortles has yet to complete 60 percent of his passes in a season in his career, and his career QB Rating is hovering around 80.
Jacksonville Jaguars 2017 Predictions
The Jaguars are so well-positioned right now, but we can't see them finishing any better than dead last in the AFC South.
That said, we think this is going to be a year of growth. Bortles will look more comfortably in the pocket and set a career-low in interceptions, and this defense will be a top 10 unit in the NFL. The Jaguars are going to beat some teams this year, and we wouldn't be shocked if they took three games in the AFC South.
In fact, we're a fan of betting Jacksonville over its 6.5 wins. This is a team that no one is going to want to see come up on its schedule, especially at the end of the season, and that could be bad news for the rest of the AFC South. The Jags will pick some teams off they seemingly have no chance at taking down, and when they do, they'll at least put the rest of the NFL on notice that they could contend in 2018.
Come today at JustBet Sportsbook and check the current Jacksonville Jaguars Betting Odds on your mobile device and start betting on Football at JustBet Sportsbook!
