JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser examines five breakout players for the Jaguars during their 2025 AFC South Championship season

1. Trevor Lawrence. Many storylines defined the Jaguars' '25 season. Head Coach Liam Coen's debut season. A turnover-centric defense. A late-season eight-game winning streak that clinched the Jaguars' first AFC South title since 2022. But perhaps no storyline stood out so much as the reemergence of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence as one of the NFL's best players at his position – and one of the league's best players overall. Lawrence, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, in 2025 produced a career-high and franchise-record 38 touchdowns – 29 passing and nine rushing – and was named a finalist for AP NFL Most Valuable Player and AP Comeback Player of the Year. Lawrence peaked late as the Jaguars won their final eight regular-season games. He went without a turnover in Weeks 13-16 and during Weeks 15-16 became the fourth player in NFL history to account for 10 touchdowns with no turnovers in a two-week span. "The growth I've seen in him is just unbelievable," Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. said of Lawrence, his teammate at Clemson University. His 38 touchdowns were tied for third-most in the NFL, and Lawrence earned AFC Offensive Player of the Month for December/January – when he accounted for 17 touchdowns with one interception.

2. Parker Washington. There may have been no bigger surprise for the Jaguars in 2025 than wide receiver Parker Washington. By season's end, few players on the team were better. Washington, a sixth-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, began the regular season as the Jaguars' fourth receiver. He finished it as the team's best and leading receiver, setting career highs with a team-high 58 receptions for 847 yards and five receiving touchdowns. He also averaged 13.6 yards on punt returns, returning two punts for touchdowns. He became one of four players in NFL history with more than 750 yards receiving and multiple punt returns in a single season. "He has just done an awesome job with every opportunity," Lawrence said late in the season. "You look at his, his role and what he's been doing for our offense, it has been huge. And just his ability to run every route to run after the catch, all those hidden yards that that he's finding after the catch has been really big for us."

3. Devin Lloyd. Linebacker Devin Lloyd began the season as a co-starter. He finished it as the Jaguars' co-leader in interceptions – and as a player who made some of the defense's biggest plays of the 2025 season. Lloyd, the No. 27 overall selection by the Jaguars in the 2022 NFL Draft, registered two key interceptions in a Week 4 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers and followed that with a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 31-28 home victory over the Kansas City Chiefs the following week on Monday Night Football. Lloyd's interception on the Indianapolis Colts' first play from scrimmage set up an early touchdown and set the tone for a 36-19 Week 13 home victory that moved the Jaguars into first place in the AFC South.

4. DaVon Hamilton. The Jaguars led the NFL in rushing defense in 2025, something coaches and teammates said would have been unlikely without veteran nose tackle DaVon Hamilton. Defensive end Josh Hines-Allen before the season called Hamilton the best player at his position in the NFL. Hamilton lived up to that description by dominating the interior and helping the Jaguars allow just 85.6 yards rushing per game. "A pro's pro," Head Coach Liam Coen called Hamilton late in the season. "Doesn't say a whole ton. When he does speak, guys listen. He's just very unselfish. He made others around him so much better. You look at the production our linebackers have been able to have because of his unselfishness and the way that he's made plays, just defeating blocks, getting off double teams, pushing the pocket. Those are all things that when you've got a nose [tackle] that can demand double teams and demand respect inside. He's a huge reason why our defense is leading the National Football League against the rush."

5. Antonio Johnson. Antonio Johnson didn't begin the season as one of the Jaguars' key defensive players. He finished it that way – and also finished tied with Lloyd for the team lead in interceptions with five. Johnson turned in multiple key interceptions in 2025, including one that clinched a 17-10 AFC South home victory over the Houston Texans in Week 3. He also registered interceptions in back-to-back late-season games, returning his final interception of the season 58 yards for a touchdown in a 41-7 home victory over the Tennessee Titans in the regular-season finale.

5a.Travis Etienne Jr. It's perhaps not fair to call Travis Etienne Jr. a "breakout player" in 2025. But while the fifth-year veteran back had had two previous 1,000-yard rushing seasons – in 2022 and 2023 – the '25 season was perhaps his best as a professional. Etienne, the No 25 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, rushed for 1,107 yards with 292 yards receiving. His 13 touchdowns led the Jaguars and were a career-high.