JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Kevin from Jacksonville Beach, FL

Hi, John. What is your opinion on opening the season with international games? Fans wait all offseason for the opening of football season, then the NFL takes away the first game of the season for both teams. I'm not against international games, but I think this is taking it too far. We are already giving up two games this year due to stadium construction, but it feels like if we weren't in this situation we would probably be one of those teams losing an opening game.

I can't say I'm quiiite as against this idea as you. I suspect this is because I cover Jaguars games pretty much the same way wherever they play, which means the site of the game doesn't hit me as personally as it does fans. I also have long since accepted that the league is focused on "expanding its brand" internationally, which means it's pretty much pointless to complain or worry about international games. Whatever my thought on this topic, the reality is the NFL's rush to increase international games is here and it's not going away – or fading – any time soon. I don't have much insight into whether the Jaguars would have "lost" a Week 1 home game had they not been playing two home games in London next season. Remember: The league doesn't assign the Jaguars overseas games as punishment. The franchise has more of these games than other teams because they choose to play a home game in London each season. It's their choice, not the league's choice. The league otherwise treats the Jaguars as it treats the 31 other teams when it comes to "normal" international games.

Charles from Riverside

Hello, John. With thousands of college players eligible for the NFL Draft, what are the major metrics and tools teams use to identify and filter through who they want to pursue? Seems like a daunting task with information bombardment? Do teams try to concentrate first on the 319 players invited to the Combine? Are there any outside firms that are reputable in ranking players that teams trust? As head of analytics does Tony Khan lead the draft process and does he have a unique approach to the numbers? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to understand how the Jags go from thousands to make 11 picks.

Scouting collegiate players indeed is a daunting process. It's so daunting, in fact, that every NFL team – the Jaguars included – employ teams of people with various levels of experience to identify and filter through the players they want to pursue. Teams gather information on these players by having area scouts who live around the country, visiting and maintaining relationships at all schools in their area. This ensures that teams are aware of all potential prospects. By the time of the NFL Scouting Combine each February, teams and their personnel departments are well aware of that year's draft class. The combine therefore isn't an introduction point; rather, it's a place where further medical and physical information is gathered. Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone leads the draft process, with an approach based on emphasizing a player's on-field/football-related attributes. It's not really an "outside-firm" type of process.

Jim from Jagsonville

Golly, Tiger, we got Uber nowadays?! Hope everyone is OK ...

Fair.

Roger from Jacksonville

If Travis Hunter becomes a full-time cornerback, I don't think there's any ambiguity about the pick being a failure unless you're trying to rewrite history. Gladstone traded two first-round picks to move up (something that HASN'T happened, by the way – trading two first-rounders for a veteran cornerback who you already know is good is entirely different) and told us he did it because Hunter is going to be one of the most unique and transformational players in the history of modern professional football; he's going to play both wide receiver and cornerback at the same time, and do it at an elite level. He's THAT talented, we were told. If Hunter moves primarily to cornerback, the pick was a failure. Period. You don't trade two first-round picks to draft a CB, because that's insane. Here's hoping Hunter will still play both positions to the envisioned level, but if the Jags are sticking him primarily at cornerback, it was a dumb move by Gladstone. Any attempt to gaslight the fan base otherwise is dishonest and infuriating.

This strikingly passion point has merit, though I'm not sure the situation is quite as clear-cut as your premise suggests. It's absolutely true that Jaguars wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter has expectations beyond most Top 5 selections – and it's just as true that Gladstone crystalized those expectations by calling Hunter a player with "the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself." That's lofty stuff and it's fair to wonder if Hunter can live up to that. But there's space between that and "failure" – if not on Twitter and in comments' sections, at least in reality. I expect Hunter will be a full-time cornerback moving forward, and the Jaguars will continue to explore how best to use him offensively. Will that be "full time?" Will it be in packages? Will it be as needed? While the interweb seems intent on speculating, the fact is we don't know. Some will certainly agree that the only way for Hunter to be "successful" is to be an All-Pro player on both sides of the ball. But if Hunter is an All-Pro player at corner and a significant contributor offensively, is that really a failure? What if he makes plays offensively to win two or three games a season? What if a play wins the AFC Championship Game? Or the Super Bowl? Is he a failure then? There's no hard, fast definitions for such things, but if Hunter makes a significant difference in winning a lot of games, I don't think many people walking around the Miller Electric Center will regret the selection.

Bradford from Orange Park, FL

I've seen it posited that the Cleveland Browns could be proposing the rule change to increase the number of years in advance for which a team can trade draft picks from three years to five years because they're hoping that opens the door for a team to do that to trade for Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. As dominant as Garrett is, I think trading even three first-round picks for any player - save a perennial All-Pro quarterback - is nuts. And anyone who had one wouldn't even be willing to do that.

Fair.

JK from NY & Fernandina Beach, FL

In 2025, Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker had big injuries that significantly impacted his performance: a broken left wrist requiring surgery and a left knee injury. Yet he played on, displaying the heart of a warrior. While battling the injuries, he appeared in 14 regular season games and the AFC Wild Card Playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. Despite his stats being down, No. 44 played through pain to the best of his abilities truly earning his paycheck in 2025. That is an intangibly rich quality that contributed to the Jags' AFC South championship. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence showed us in 2025 that a great player can have a huge season after an injury-hampered down year. Has Walker earned a big extension? That is for The Triumvirate and Mr. Khan to answer.

I expect many will debate whether Walker has "earned" a "big" contract extension, if only because it seems at times that everything about Walker is ripe for debate. I don't expect there's much meaningful debate about this within the organization.

James from Salt Lake City, Utah via Jagsonville

Mr. Ooooo. This will be the first time I will be watching Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Twice as many picks, cool!

Now we know.

Hywel from Wales, UK

A friend of mine is a former international rugby player. We were talking about skiing one day and he mentioned while playing professional rugby, there were certain activities they were stopped from doing due to contractual and insurance reasons. Skiing was one of them. It got me wondering, are there any similar limitations on what NFL players can do or not do in the off or regular parts of the seasons? P.S. I'll miss Wingard. He also likes skiing.

High-risk activities such as skiing, motorcycle riding, skydiving, jet-skiing, etc., are commonly prohibited in NFL contracts – with violations potentially resulting in fines or loss of pay. Skiing in particular can be difficult for players who do it well to give up while they are playing. Former Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard indeed is a very good skier, and I expect he will ski very often when he stops playing.

Joel from Arlington

I feel like that's exactly what someone who is planning to write the second greatest April fools story in history would say?

A fool and his money are soon parted, but foolish are they who doubt my general dislike – and disdain for – April Fool's stories. They're a fool's game. Not to mention, foolhardy.