JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Ted from Section 221 since Day 1
John, Do you have any insight into how James Gladstone and the personnel department will handle the combine? I know last year they all went, but heard that this may not be the norm going forward.
I expect the Jaguars will be represented at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis later this month in some capacity, though I don't expect leadership such as General Manager James Gladstone, Head Coach Liam Coen or Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli to attend the event this offseason. The Jaguars appear likely to approach draft preparation close to the manner Gladstone's former team, the Los Angeles Rams, have approached it in recent years – emphasizing on-field performance and video-based evaluation rather than face-to-face events such as combine. The idea is to reduce the bias inherent in in-person interviews, which some executives believe clouds the evaluation process without corresponding benefits.
Brian from Round Rock, TX
We found the foundation, which is the head coach and quarterback. So, we have a legit shot of making the playoffs every year. The jury is out on the general manager. I would give him a C so far, which is probably generous. His first draft is looking shaky. Giving up a first-round pick is serious thing, especially not getting a star quarterback for it. You know, that's where you get you core, your stars. So, he likely set us back. His free agent class was spotty as well. Anyway, I feel like the general manager is kind of on the hot seat and will be gone this time next year if his acquisition don't start panning out.
Goodness gracious. I wonder sometimes through what lens people see the Jaguars – and I really wonder sometimes about Texas lenses. The Jaguars certainly do not see the jury being "out" on Gladstone. We have no idea yet if the 2025 NFL Draft is "shaky" because we're only a season into their careers, and the team's free-agent class – outside of wide receiver Dyami Brown – did as expected, which was to solidify spots the offensive line and secondary. Gladstone is not remotely on any "hot seat" and I would be stunned if he's not the team's general manager for the many seasons. Let's remember: Coen, Gladstone and Boselli run this organization pretty much as one and in lockstep. The trio together changed the culture of the organization and reset the course, and I expect the three to lead the organization for the foreseeable future.
Yetidaddy from Nowhere and Yet Somewhere
We saw the team improve in both yards per game and scoring in 2025. We know that improvement is always the goal on your way to winning and if so, what or how will improvements look next season, what is reasonable to expect?
I expect the Jaguars will improve at least marginally running when they want/need to run in 2026 and I expect they will improve defensively, particularly in the back seven.
Stokes from Orange Park, FL
The truth is we could have used Hunter in the secondary, having gotten the same amount of defensive line play in the Bills game. I think we need him more at defensive back moving forward, at this point. It's ironic, because lots of the NFL "pundits" said we should have primarily used him there. They aren't very often, but they may have been right. The kid has phenomenal ball skills, and a knack for coming up/down with the ball. I am a little concerned about him being too light, though. I get it was at practice and a non-contact injury, and that that could happen to any player. Do you think the team makes a concerted effort to bulk him up, though?
I expect Hunter will play extensively on defense moving forward – at least as much as the season-high 68.3 percent of defensive snaps he played in a Week 3 victory over the Houston Texans. I expect he would have played more and more on defense as the season continued, not because of whatever the "pundits" thought but because the Jaguars believe he is a top-level corner who can be among the NFL's best players at the position. Hunter will continue to work to build strength, though I don't know that they will be trying to bulk him up to any unusual degree.
Curtis from Shack Outside La Grange
With the announced increase in the salary cap next year, how do you think the Jags can retain that was previously deemed unlikely?
The NFL last week informed teams that the 2026 salary cap would be between $301.2 and $305.7 million, an increase of a little more than $20 million from last season. This increase was not unexpected and was basically in line with recent year-to-year cap increases. I don't expect that will significantly affect the Jaguars' approach regarding high-profile pending unrestricted free agents such as running back Travis Etienne Jr. and/or linebacker Devin Lloyd.
JK from NY & Fernandina Beach, FL
John, How is Tony Boselli spending his first offseason as executive vice president of football operations? Is No. 71 so 904Ever that he is in the building 24/7 working on improving football operations? Or does The Bos' occasionally drop by and pontificate to the equipment staff, much like he did on Happy Hour, but now with an even smaller audience?
Who?
Kevin from Jacksonville Beach, FL
Hi, John. The HOF is no better than the Pro Bowl at this point. It's all a popularity contest when you have people voting who gets in and who doesn't. In an NFL world where statistics matter, you would think if someone's stats prove they should be in the HOF, they would get in. No voting needed, no popularity required, no market-size impacts. Let the stats decide who gets in first.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame process is better than the Pro Bowl process because the people voting for the Hall spend far more time and take the process more seriously than the people who vote for the Pro Bowl. This doesn't make the system perfect and the current rules from this view need adjusting quickly. But that's a format issue more than a voter issues. Either way, I can't agree that statistics should have an overriding role in the process. This isn't baseball. Numbers don't always reveal greatness.
Dwayne from Jacksonville
No matter how many bears you have eaten, the bear only eats you once.
Fair.
Jeremy from Gilbert, AZ
The Hall of Fame should adopt positional-based induction slots, objective performance auto-qualifiers, published voter ballots, limits on repeat snubs and a modestly larger class size so that excellence, balance and accountability – not politics or narrative – determine who gets enshrined.
There's merit here. I'm not quite sure how positional-based induction slots would correct things – and many voters are already conscious of trying to ensure there is balance in the class in the sense of not having classes with all quarterbacks, all receivers, etc. I'm not as passionate about publishing ballots because I believe voters should be able to vote their conscious without fear of social media thrashing. Just because the Twitterverse believes a candidate worthy doesn't make it so. The thought here is the best "fix" is reworking the system to ensure at least five modern era candidates, two senior candidates, one contributor and one coach are enshrined each season. Remember: This is a league of 22 positions with 32 teams. Is it so ridiculous to make sure we're honoring enough players, coaches and contributors in a league so large and diverse? Shouldn't we err on the side of honoring a few too many rather than a few too few?
Brendan from Yulee
No Hall of Fame for Senior Editors? Now that's what I call a snub.
It actually sounds about right.
John from Jax
Hi, KOAGF. The last I checked, a defensive stop on a running back for a 3-yard loss is the same result as a quarterback sack for a 3-yard loss. Yet the former gets a ho-hum acknowledgement and the latter gets celebration and stats tracking for player comparisons. Why isn't the sack of a running back tracked the same as for a quarterback?
Fair point. A case also can be made in this era of down-and-distance emphasis and situational football that a player who routinely stops the run and gets opponents in second-and-long situations – and therefore tilts the odds in the defense's favor – is nearly as valuable as a "sack guy." There may have been no more valuable player to the Jaguars' defense in 2025 than nose tackle DaVon Hamilton. Without him, the Jaguars almost certainly wouldn't have led the NFL in run defense or finished 13-4. But because he's not a sack guy, few noticed. Why isn't this appreciated more? Sacks are sexy. Sacks are cool. We like sexy and cool.
Tom from Charlottesville
Will the NFL allow the Jaguars to announce: The 33 pick in the first round … Travis Hunter … wide receiver from the Jaguars? (It would be funny!)
(Would it?)
