JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Crash from Glen Saint Mary, FL
Obi Wan! What kind of draft-pick package would the Jaguars have to put together in order to get back into the first round?
This is an intriguing question, and a unique one for O-Zone readers because the Jaguars never have been without a first-round selection in the NFL Draft. They currently are without one, with their earliest selection in the 2026 NFL Draft currently No. 56 – No. 24 in Round 2 – because they used their '26 first-round selection to trade with the Cleveland Browns for the chance to select wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter No. 2 overall in the '25 draft. The Jaguars therefore would need to move up about 25 selections to get into the final few selections of Round 1 this offseason. That probably would take a third-round selection and maybe a future second-round selection – or multiple third-round selections packaged with that second-round selection – or a very desirable veteran player with a conducive contract. Or something along these lines. It's a long, long way to move up. It would be surprising if the Jaguars can make it happen.
Daniel from Johnston, IA
Question. Assuming he has a fine-to-normal career from here on out, do the Jags have a kicker already likely bound for the HOF due to the record-setting field goal?
It will be very difficult for Jaguars kicker Cam Little to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame – even having set the record for longest field goal in NFL history with a 68-yarder against the Las Vegas Raiders this past season. That's not to say Little isn't a very good NFL kicker. And I do expect him to have a great career. It's just that it's very, very difficult for kickers or punters to make the Hall. The only "exclusive" kickers in the Hall are Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud. Andersen was on the 1980s and 1990s All-Decade teams – and Stenerud was on the NFL's 75th and 100th Anniversary teams. Kickers such as George Blanda and Marion Motley, also in the Hall of Fame, also played extensively at other positions in bygone eras. What sort of career must a kicker have now to make the Hall? I expect former New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri to be in the Hall. He holds the NFL record for career points and kicked two game-winning field goals in the Super Bowl. He also kicked the game-tying field goal and the game-winner in the "Tuck Rule" game – and was a member of four Super Bowl champions. That's legendary stuff. I expect it will take that sort of well-above-the-norm career for a kicker to be enshrined. Little certainly has Hall of Fame talent, though. Check back on this one in a decade and a half or so.
Dwayne from Jacksonville
No kickers? We would have to change the name from "Foot"ball.
Pretty much.
C from Fleming Island, FL
OZONE, I know Sam Kouvaris is our Hall of Fame representative. How did he get chosen for such an honor? And eventually he will have to be replaced. How is that handled?
Sam Kouvaris, former longtime WJXT-Channel 4 sports director, indeed has been the representative for the Jaguars and Jacksonville for the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process. The organization selected him for this role in 1995. At whatever time Kouvaris no longer is in the role, the organization will select another representative – with the Hall of Fame's board of directors responsible for reviewing and approving the selection. The voting committee consists of one representative from each NFL city – two each from New York and Los Angeles because there are two NFL teams in each of those cities – and 17 at-large selectors with one representative from the Pro Football Writers Association for a total of 50.
JAY from THE BURG, FL
The best thing about Head Coach Liam Coen and his staff was the willingness to put players in their natural position to succeed then experiment from there, not the other way around – definitely a shift from the last 20 years. I think Travon Walker is going to be a dominant defensive tackle in this league. We should probably try to re-sign him now.
I don't know that Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker is going to only play defensive tackle moving forward and I don't know that he is only going to play defensive end. I expect it will be some combination. I do know he's a dominant defensive player – particularly when healthy, which was rarely the case this past season. We'll see how the Jaguars approach Walker's contract. It should be an intriguing storyline.
Johnny from JAX
Can you please pass along that I have been waiting to see Travon as our short-yardage fullback? We certainly know he has the power. Then of course you know. He catches the two-point conversion surprise pass late in the season.
Hmmmm…
Mike from Eagan, MN
John, I have to wholeheartedly disagree with your assessment that General Manager James Gladstone is not absolutely on the hot seat this offseason and next year. You're totally missing the appropriate way to measure the front office of this organization. From THIS view, the fact that James hasn't ONCE mentioned Sbarro or Bullet Bob at Strings in his one year on the job indicates that he just isn't taking this seriously. I'm shocked at how you shill for the organization, John.
This references a recent O-Zone email suggesting that Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone might be on the "hot seat" following the 2026 season. I admit I somewhat casually dismissed the idea, perhaps remembering the Jaguars' 13-4 season and multiple solid long- and short-term personnel moves made by Gladstone. This one's on me, I guess. I'm not sure how I live with myself sometimes.
Jesse from Texas
If you had to guess, will the Jaguars have more or less prime time games than the Kansas City Chiefs next season?
My guess is both teams will have multiple prime-time games in the 2026 regular season. It's very possible the Chiefs will have more because they have been in multiple Super Bowls in the last decade and because quarterback Patrick Mahomes remains one of the NFL's most high-profile players. Stay tuned.
Kathy from Ponte Vedra, FL
What is the status of guard Cooper Hodges? Do you think the coaching staff consider him a possible starter as guard?
The Jaguars like guard Cooper Hodges. He potentially could start at some point if healthy. He has had two serious knee injuries in three NFL seasons. Health will be the issue on this front until it's not.
Bradford from Orange Park, FL
I'm of the opinion pass interference should be reviewable, with a disclaimer being clearly stated and enforced that unclear and not obvious situations will result in the call on the field standing. I just think when referees make gaffes, deliberately or not (I know, "deliberately" just does not happen) on those calls and they go on to dictate game outcomes, that outweighs just sticking with a bad call because not doing that in other situations makes it more convoluted. Is that not a reasonable position, suggestion?
Most of your position is reasonable, with the notable exception being the idea that officials would deliberately make a mistake. That's silliness. The issue in this suggestion is the same as whenever people suggest reviewing pass interference be reviewable – and that's that it's almost aways a judgement call and just as almost always a call on which both teams believe passionately they have at least an argument that the call should have been in their favor. This is the element that caused "reviewable pass interference" to be a one-year experiment in 2019 rather than a permanent rule change. The league absolutely understands that pass interference is a key issue. Interference, along with the "catch rule," is seemingly at the core of more multiple game-changing – and controversial – moments than any other rule. It's not that the league doesn't want to find the right solution. It's not that the Competition Committee hasn't devoted decades of energy to finding the right solution. It's just that the nature of these rules are that they're impossible to perfect. Not that they won't keep trying. And not that it won't continue to be an issue. Forever and ever.
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
Does the fact there is no Florida-Georgia game this year at EverBank Stadium change the potential timing of the Jaguars UK game from the traditional mid-October window?
I doubt it. The league in recent seasons has scheduled United Kingdom games in October and I expect the league will stick to that timeframe.
Yeti Daddy from Somewhere and Yet Nowhere
Great, O. How? Why? WHAT? "The jury is out on the general manager." What in the world? I can even imagine … OK! "O," being nice is hard!
Always, always remember what the late great Charlie Daniels once said when cautioning not to go down to Wooley Swamp at night: "Some things in this world you just can't explain."
