Defensive tackle Malik Jackson believes this will be a "super" year for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The defensive tackle told Bleacher Report's "Simms & Lefkoe Podcast" that he is "very confident" in the Jaguars and expects to win a Super Bowl this season.
"The Panthers did it. If the Panthers can do it after the season they had -- but we're going to win the Super Bowl," he said. "If they can do it, why can't we?"
The Carolina Panthers were 7-8-1 in 2014, then went 15-1 in 2015 and reached Super Bowl 50, where they lost to the Denver Broncos. Jackson, playing for Denver, scored the game's first touchdown on a fumble recovery.
Jackson signed a six-year, $86.1 million contract with the Jaguars the next offseason. He said on the podcast that last season he had the "naive mindset" that he was going to be the one to change Jacksonville's fortunes. But the Jaguars finished 3-13 and continued their playoff drought; they last qualified for the playoffs in 2007.
This year he says it "truly feels different" for the Jaguars with Tom Coughlin returning as executive vice president and Doug Marrone as the new head coach. The Jaguars also loaded up in free agency, signing impact defensive players A.J. Bouye, Calais Campbell and Barry Church.
The Jaguars also drafted running back Leonard Fournette in the first round. The confident Fournette said after being drafted that he believes he's the player who can get the Jaguars to the Super Bowl.
Jackson said on the podcast he has been bullish on the Jaguars even before those additions.
"After the Super Bowl, I said, 'Man we're going 16-0, we're going all the way,'" he said. "That's what I believe. Until we lose, that's when I'll believe differently."