2007 Previews: Jacksonville Jaguars

Note: This is a team-by-team look previewing the 2007 season. These are my official thoughts on how I think things will play out.

Last year: 8-8 (third in AFC South)

Best addition: Jermaine Wiggins (TE, Vikings)

Key personnel loss: Donovin Darius (S, FA)

2007 outlook: In all honesty, Jacksonville didn't lose or gain much through free agency, and in fact of all of the players the Jaguars lost, they actually seemed to be doing themselves a favor. A .500 team last year, the team continues to be plagued by mediocre WR's (hello Dennis Northcutt) while boasting a strong running game and questions about Byron Leftwich's health. Along with Wiggins, the only real offensive threat is RB Maurice Jones-Drew.

With a coach like Jack Del Rio, the Jaguars should remain a solid defensive team although the recent release of Darius and the loss of Deon Grant leave holes at the safety position. If the secondary play remains steady, this defense should keep Jacksonville in a lot of games it may not have any business of winning.

Key to success: As I just mentioned, the defense should keep Jacksonville in a lot of games meaning that if the Jaguars want to improve on last year's record, the offense will have to come through and in a big way. By adding Northcutt, the Jaguars believe they have solved a lot of their offensive woes from last year but as anyone who has followed Northcutt's career knows, that is more wishful thinking than it is anything else.

Against Washington: Probably the most exciting win of last year for Skins fans was when these two teams met early on. This game, which went into overtime, was won on a long TD pass from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss and was probably the lone highlight of the season. The two teams do not meet this season.

Fantasy sleeper: Defense. Aside from Jones-Drew, the only player/unit from Jacksonville that is worth using every week will be the defense. With a disruptive front line and a solid LB corp, this unit should be able to put up a decent number of sacks and turnovers, along with being able to keep scores low. Keep this group high up on your list of defenses and be prepared to them late after a run on defenses has been made earlier in your draft.