Big Cat Country
Big Cat Country previews the Jaguars’ season finale against the Colts.
Welcome to Big Cat Country’s staff roundtable! This week, we’re previewing Week 18’s matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts in Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Jaguars are 4.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Question 1: Are you rooting for another win or a higher draft pick?
Travis Holmes: I am not a believer of “learning how to win” or rollover wins, personally. The NFL doesn’t operate like a 90s cell phone plan. With that in mind, I am passionately rooting for a 10+ point loss by Jacksonville on Sunday. I am a fan of anything occurring to get the right people in place for a prosperous future for this front office and roster.
Gus Logue: In the words of Al Davis: “Just win, baby.” Draft order shouldn’t matter much to Jacksonville since they already have a franchise quarterback and aren’t in contention to land the first overall pick. It’s more important for current Jaguars players to taste another victory and carry some momentum into the offseason.
Henry Zimmer: At this point, I am rooting for a win. What is the difference at this point? The Jags don’t need a QB so they don’t necessarily need to be drafting terribly high to get a game changing player. Beat a division opponent on the road to close this year, worry about everything else later.
Question 2: If you could ‘steal’ a player from the Colts and place them on the Jaguars’ FUTURE roster, who would it be?
Travis: Give me the game-wrecking interior defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and his 6.5 sacks in 2024 to help Jacksonville shore up its’ front four. While I know he’s 30 years old, he’s still the guy that offensive units must be aware of and would fill a pretty sizable need for this Jaguars’ defense in 2025.
Gus: I’d go with their 2024 first-round pick, Laiatu Latu. The UCLA product ranks top-30 among 121 qualifying edge defenders this year in quarterback hits, pass rush win rate and PFF pass rush grade. Latu is already a starting-caliber player and he’d provide much-needed depth behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker in Jacksonville.
Henry: Zaire Franklin YOU are a Jacksonville Jaguar in this hypothetical. A linebacking core built between Franklin and Foye Oluokun would do some serious work.
Question 3: Who will be the biggest X-factor on Sunday?
Travis: Magic Michael McCorkle Jones will be Sunday’s X-factor. Magic Mike will be facing a Gus Bradley defense that is coming off of a week where they just allowed Drew Lock to conjure up Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen vibes for the lowly New York Giants to the tune of 309 yards, 5 total touchdowns, and no interceptions on 23 passing attempts. If there’s ever a week for Mac to pad his resume for 2025 job applications this would definitely be the week.
Gus: Whoever suits up at quarterback for the Colts. Joe Flacco will likely start a...
