Shipley's Dozen: 12 Thoughts on Jaguars, Travis Hunter and More Before Week 1

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Football is back. The NFL season will officially kick off with a Super Bowl rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on Wednesday evening, and the Jacksonville Jaguars' season will begin a few days later in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. With the 2026 Jaguars now just a few days away from hitting the field for the first time, we are going to introduce a new weekly column: Shipley's Dozen, with 12 takes each week on the Jaguars and the rest of the NFL at large. This column will come out each morning the day after the Jaguars play, and this first edition leads us into our takes ahead of Week 1. Travis Hunter's role at cornerback as opposed to offense is the obvious top attraction to the Jaguars' former No. 2 pick's season, but this game is also as narrative heavy as they come. Hunter and the Jaguars against the team that will either be remembered as the team that traded Hunter away, or as the team that was able to win a deal against the Jaguars. This game will not determine who won last year's trade between the Jaguars and the Browns, but that will not stop the narrative from snowballing regardless of the result. There is certainly a case to be made that the Browns already pose themselves as the Jaguars' first must-win game of the 2026 season, but for me the matchup is just ... odd. If the Jaguars win, well, that was expected. It does not feel like we learn anything about the Jaguars with a win, while a loss would be as bad of a start to the season as one could really imagine. I expect a big Jaguars win, but I am not sure how happy anyone will actually be after this game. The big reason I believe Parker Washington will have a big week is because the Browns' starting cornerbacks on the outside are Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell. Campbell, a former Jaguars second-round pick, is not a dominant player, but he is certainly capable. Then there is Ward, who is one of the best cornerbacks in all of football. If both players can play at least a solid game against the Jaguars, they could cause some pretty big headaches by preventing the likes of Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers rom taking over the game. With the Jaguars making such important investments at tight end this offseason, I am fascinated to see if Liam Coen truly leans into 12 personnel. Coen has said before how much he likes two-tight end sets, but the Jaguars specialized in 11 personnel a year ago and their receiver talent has only gotten better since this time a year ago. I feel like Coen's nature will be the let his receivers and Trevor Lawrence dictate the pace, which makes me curious to see just how often the Jaguars throw 12 personnel in there as their changeup. I think they utilize it more this year than they did a year ago, but I am still waiting to see what the passing game looks like from that point. I think Anthony Campanile and Grant Udinski will both be a head coach a year from now. In fact, I will go as far as to predict that one of them will coach the Indianapolis Colts. Keeping both coaches this offseason was such a boon for the Jaguars after each drew some head coach interest, and I think the Jaguars themselves know this is not a set-up that will extend much further beyond this season. Enjoy them while they are here, Duval, because I have a feeling this will be the last Week 1 the Jaguars enter the season with Udinski/Campanile as their top assistants. The first week of college football brought a lot of interest to me from a Jaguars perspective. Last year's college football weekends lacked a bit of excitement for the Jaguars since they did not have a first-round pick, but that is not the case this year. Not for now, at least. I am not ready to say I think the Jaguars will actually use a first-round pick in next year's draft, and it will be fascinating to watch how the Jaguars operate during the regular-season and the trade deadline with a first-round pick to bring to the table. I have only covered a few Jaguars-Browns games in my time on the Jaguars' beat, which makes this memory bank a limited one this week. With that said, I will never be able to watch a Jaguars-Browns game in Jacksonville and not think about ... TreverBank. The Jaguars' stadiun sponsor renamed itself to TreverBank Stadium for the day and the Jaguars lost a sloppy fever dream of a game 18-13 to, somehow, Deshaun Watson. It was one of the oddest Jaguars games I can recall covering, and it was the real start of the end for the Doug Pederson/Trent Baalke era. Brian Thomas Jr. has a big week. That has nothing to do with Thomas, who I believe is due for a big rebound season and should be able to unlock the Jaguars' vertical passing game in the process. But I also think there are weeks where Thomas will draw a truly elite cornerback and the ball will then naturally go elsewhere. I think this will be one of those weeks against Denzel Ward, and I would caution against overreacting to it. I will not be shocked if the Jaguars allow zero sacks against the Browns. Jared Verse is a great player and the Browns' defense has been built around their defensive line in recent seasons, but I think the Jaguars and Liam Coen will scheme enough things up on offense to get the ball out of Trevor Lawrence's hand at an even quicker rate than usual. The Jaguars have some real advantages against the Browns' nickel cornerbacks, linebackers and safeties, and I think the Jaguars lean on that to keep Lawrence clean throughout the day, while I also think Anton Harrison shuts down Verse. Each week, we will take a look at games around the NFL that I believe have some quasi-Jaguars connections that are worth taking a peek at. This week, I will be closely watching ... Buffalo Bills vs. Houston Texans: The Texans and Jaguars will be battling back-and-forth for the AFC South title all season long, and I am fascinated to see what Houston looks like with a tough Week 1 draw. Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs: The Jaguars will play the Denver Broncos in Denver just six days after this Monday Night Football clash. How healthy Bo Nix looks and what the Jaylen Waddle impact means will be key storylines to watch. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cincinnati Bengals: The Jaguars play the Bengals early in the year, and the two could play again in January depending on how the AFC plays out. I want to see if the Bengals' defense is actually improved or if it is just kind of ... there. MVP: Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams Defenders simply do not win the MVP award. Quarterbacks and the occasional running backs have dominated the award for decades, and only three MVPs in NFL history have been non-offensive players. With that said, I think Myles Garrett has an all-time season now that he is on a team that is not just competent, but is great. We saw what he could do with horrible Browns teams, and I think what he does this year will be something else entirely. COTY: Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams I think the Rams have one of the NFL's truly great seasons this year, and Sean McVay is the one pushing all the buttons. I think Liam Coen and Mike Macdonald will be in the mix, too. OPOY: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings This one is a stretch, but I think Justin Jefferson is going to have an elite season now that he has an average NFL quarterback passing to him again. He put up 1,500 yards with Sam Darnold throwing to him, and the opinion of Sam Darnold was not all that different than the one about Murray up until he won a Super Bowl. DPOY: Will Anderson, Houston Texans Will Anderson seems due to have the kind of season that will earn some kind of recognition. The Jaguars have been lucky to mostly avoid his domiannce over the years, but he seems like he is on a crash course for a big season. OROY: Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks: I give him the edge over Jeremiyah Love because I believe Love could have an Ashton Jeanty-like rookie season where the flashes are apparent but the production is so-so. Carnell Date makes sense, and so would a healthy Jordyn Tyson, but I think Jadarian Price will have a big role on one of the NFL's top teams and produce accordingly. DROY: Caleb Downs, Dallas Cowboys Reuben Bain, David Bailey, and Arvell Reese would all be good picks for this too, but I think Caleb Downs makes several game-changing plays on big stages to send Dallas into the playoffs. A big star in Jerry World normally does not go unnoticed. I have already revealed just how far I think the Jaguars will go this season. In terms of the actual Super Bowl winner, I am going to go with ... the Los Angeles Rams over the Buffalo Bills. I do not think the Bills are the AFC's best team, and I have plenty of questions still about Joe Brady in the head coach role. But I do believe Josh Allen is the difference-maker in the AFC right now, just like he was in the Jaguars during the Wild Card round a year ago. But I think the Rams are the team everyone has said they will be. They added several blue-chip players, have a top-notch staff, and an elite QB/HC combo. I think they edge out the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC title game before defeating the Bills. This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.