JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars had significant strides in the eyes of players in a survey released by the NFL Players Association on Wednesday, making the biggest jump among all 32 teams and avoiding tumultuous headlines like they did a year ago.
In the now-annual report card released by the NFLPA, the Jaguars ranked No. 5 overall, a seismic jump from last year’s report where they ranked 28th and drew dubious headlines for mention of rats running around at EverBank Stadium. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs may have the Lombardi Trophy, but they came in ranked 31st in the survey, one spot ahead of the Commanders.
The Jaguars made major gains in things like the locker room being big enough, having enough full-time trainers and having enough cold tub space, with those three areas being ranked perfect by players. Those were the top marks in the league. Owner Shad Khan was rated 9.6 out of 10 by players for his willingness to invest in facilities. The Jaguars opened their new Miller Electric Center to high marks last season. Khan was voted as the No. 3 owner in the league in the metrics used.
Head coach Doug Pederson received an A- from players.
Highlights of Pederson were that players felt he was “somewhat willing to listen to the locker room,” and 80% of players saying the felt Pederson was “efficient with their time.”
See the entire report card here | See the entire report from 2022 here
An overview of the team from the report said: “The players’ main complaint, however, is the team’s treatment of their families. They are one of 12 teams that do not provide a family room to players’ families during the game, and even though they began to offer daycare on gameday this past year, some players report that it is “unreliable” and isn’t worth bringing their kids to. They are hopeful that it will be improved this upcoming year.”
The worst grade for the Jaguars was a D- for its treatment of families. That ranked 24th in the NFL. It received B- or higher marks in categories like food/cafeteria, nutrition, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and ownership.
That was a massive jump from last year’s awful report, which saw the Jaguars get D or worse marks in five of eight categories.
NFL Jaguars grades
Category, Grade, Rank out of 32
Treatment of Families, D-, 24th
Food/Cafeteria, B-, 14th
Nutritionist/Dietician, B, 15th
Locker Room , A-, 6th
Training Room, A-, 3rd
Training Staff , B+, 8th
Weight Room, A, 4th
Strength Coaches, B+, 21st
Team Travel, B, 5th
Head Coach, A-, 19th
Ownership, A, 3rd