2025 Team Previews: Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars 2025 Team Preview
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Relevant Players
**Brian Thomas Jr., WR (ADP: 14, WR8): Last season Thomas was the WR49 at the time of my team preview, going after pick No. 120 and being fully engulfed by the shadow of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. I’m proud to say I was putting Thomas right alongside those guys, and ranked him as a rookie ahead of Odunze, who was my favorite real life WR in the class. Boy did I feel smart watching Thomas be a true WR1 from the jump. He finished with 87 receptions, 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, as a rookie, in an offense that was mostly broken after a few weeks. Thomas had to endure seven starts from Mac Jones, and he averaged 6.5 receptions and 85.9 yards in those games. For the final four weeks of the season, when Jacksonville’s best course of action was to lose, Thomas posted three 100+ yard games and averaged 107.8 yards and a touchdown per game.
You can say hindsight is 20/20, but I saw it at the time. It was unclear why the over-the-top excitement for the other WR prospects didn’t extend to Thomas, whose numbers were on par with them, when he played alongside Nabers at LSU and was headed to a team with an established QB. He was in the 93rd percentile vs. press coverage last season (80.8%) and in the 81st vs. man (75%). He now has an offensive guru in Liam Cohen being handed the keys to the car, and because of Cohen I’m bullish on this entire offense. But I’m most bullish on Thomas, because as good as he was, he stands to improve on his zone beating ability, and he was subpar on slant routes (74.4%) when they made up almost 16% of his routes. That’s when you realize he was a rookie, and there’s more ceiling. This guy’s a first round talent, so even at the beginning of the second round I’m seeing value. A WR1 finish is possible.
**Travis Hunter, WR (ADP: 68, WR34): Preseason action and training camp news will be important to follow for Hunter, who was the second overall pick in this draft, but not only because of his talent at receiver. Hunter was drafted as arguably the most promising two-way prospect ever, and we have basically no information on how the Jags intend to deploy him. Will he primarily play corner, and mix in on offense? If so, I’m not sure that’s a draftable player. Will he play primarily receiver, but see limited snaps because he’s on defense too? Also not great. But if the Jags decide that in Year 1 this guy’s a full-time receiver, then this ADP could look hilariously low by season’s end.
For starters, his Reception Perception profile is the hallowed all green route tree. There wasn’t any aspect of the route tree where Hunter didn’t absolutely dominate, and he did so while being the obvious focus of every defense that Colorado faced. Hunter was in the 97th percentile vs. zone, the 94th vs. man and the 97th again vs. press, which he faced on 22.6% of his routes. His profile also notes that he’s an elite separator despite the fact “he’s not the most technically refined prospect I’ve ever charted.” That means that Hunter, while being the focal point of the defense, and basically playing the position with base refinement because he was more focused on defensive responsibilities, was one of the best receivers Reception Perception has ever charted. There is an opportunity here for insane value. If it becomes clear that Hunter’s going to be a WR first, the vast majority of managers won’t get that memo. Most people are not locked in to camp reports, aren’t following preseason games and will go into their drafts thinking Hunter’s going to be a gadget player. If we think that he’s focused on the offensive side of the ball, he blows away Tet McMillan of the Panthers who is going a full round ahead of him. And defenses won’t even be able to scheme him out of the plans because Brian Thomas Jr. is 100% the guy that needs to be taken away. Jacksonville might be in for a massive offensive campaign.
Travis Etienne, RB (ADP: 97, RB33): Etienne is where the Jaguars get real interesting, because there is going to be value in the Jacksonville running game, but it’s very very unclear where it’ll come from. The fantasy community is willing to stick with Etienne as their best guess at the leader of this backfield, as he’s got the earliest ADP, but I am not so sure. Etienne was a second-rounder last season, and someone I called “about as safe a pick as you’ll find in fantasy.” He wound up with 558 rushing yards, 812 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in 15 games. He was a total disaster in 2024, and his 2023 drops in efficiency proved to be real, while his touchdown spike (12 touchdowns in 2023) were the illusion.
The argument for Etienne was that he’d be one of the best bets for volume, and as a dual threat RB he could produce even though he had lost a lot of efficiency per carry. What actually happened is that his backfield mate Tank Bigsby improved a ton in his second year and was flat out better than Etienne and forced a full-on time share. Now, Etienne’s ADP has dropped so far that if he reverts to form, he’ll be a league-winner. But Bigsby is still around, the Jags drafted another rookie that’s generating some buzz, and there’s no real argument as to why he’d revert to top form. Etienne’s peak efficiency fell off in Year 2, and that efficiency was consistent with last season as well. Etienne is looking like a player who needs volume to thrive, and the Jags simply don’t have a need to wear him down with all that volume. He’s a fine gamble here, but he is not standing out to me as someone you must target for the value.
Interesting Sleeper(s)
**Trevor Lawrence, QB (ADP: 124, QB20): Lawrence is the player on this team that jumps out the most in terms of outproducing ADP. He’s become an afterthought because of how much he was hyped as a rookie, and how pedestrian he’s been as far as fantasy finishes. But I did a recent deep dive here into why Lawrence has the potential to be a league-winner, and it boils down to this; pass-first QBs need to hit certain marks to be QB1s, and Lawrence has hit some of them before. He’s crossed the 4,000-yard mark twice in his career, and only missed it when injuries kept him out of games, or Urban Meyer was his head coach.
He's been held back in the past because he’s maxed out at 25 touchdown passes, but TD luck can change and he’s due for a big season. The Jaguars’ uncertain running game could open the door for Lawrence to throw more around the red zone, and he now has a bona fide stud for a WR1, and a rookie who has the potential to be sensational right away. Pair that with an offensive coordinator who successfully took part in the full rebuild of Baker Mayfield, and there’s a lot to get excited about for almost no cost. Plus, Lawrence does run much more than the average pocket passer. If you’re still a believer in waiting a long time on QBs, this is your boy.
Tank Bigsby, RB (ADP: 147, RB48): It was likely obvious from the tone of Etienne’s write up, but I’m a bigger believer in Bigsby for 2025. Bigsby wasn’t any great shakes last season, but he averaged almost a full yard more per carry than Etienne behind the same offensive line, and ran with power that led to seven touchdowns. If Bigsby is just the starter in 2025 – which is very possible – and he can get closer to 200 attempts, we’re looking at a 1,000-yard rusher with double-digit touchdown upside. That’s a very rosy outlook, and this could easily remain a close to equal time share with Bigsby being off the field on passing downs. Even if that’s the case, Bigsby’s floor is probably what he did last season, which is providing value on an ADP that has him just barely inside the Top 50 RBs.
Notable Players
Brenton Strange, TE (ADP: 165, TE21): Strange had some moments last season, and he’ll be the TE1 for Jacksonville this year so a spike in TDs could be incoming. None of this means you should draft him with any level of confidence, but he’s worth keeping tabs on.
Dyami Brown, WR (ADP: 202, WR76): Brown didn’t really do much last season in Washington despite Jayden Daniels being one of the better rookie QBs in recent memory, and the Commanders pleading for someone, anyone to step up as the No. 2 pass catcher behind Terry McLaurin. Brown had some splash plays, and I anticipate more with the Jags, but not enough that he becomes a fantasy-relevant option.
Parker Washington, WR (ADP: 310, WR112): Washington has looked like an NFL receiver at times, although he’s rarely had much opportunity to showcase himself. He probably won’t get many chances this year either, but if there were injuries to Thomas or Hunter, I can see Washington becoming a FLEX-worthy player with a big role.
Handcuffs
Bhayshul Tuten, RB (ADP: 133, RB44): Tuten put in work at Virginia Tech last season, totaling over 1,200 yards from scrimmage and scoring 17 times. In two seasons for the Hokies Tuten has displayed explosiveness and a nose for the end zone. Tuten has big time speed, and while he’s short, he’s not so slight that we need to be fearful of him taking hits. If the Jags are insistent on a committee, he’s a bigger threat to Etienne than Bigsby, and someone who could be impactful at some point this year.