JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Jarret from Crosby, ND
Zone, Hunter may have all the talent in the world, but I just don't see how a 185-pound frame can hope to play snaps on both sides of the ball and withstand the abuse and demands of a grueling NFL season with all the hits he's going to accumulate coupled with the lack of rest. I hate to say it, but injury seems inevitable with Hunter – and as you always preach, the most important ability is availability.
Your theories and concerns have merit, and conventional NFL wisdom indeed accepts these concerns as inevitable. The other side of this conversation is that there are exceptions to most rules – and all professional athletes are not created equal. The body of an elite athlete is not the same as the body of "normal" NFL starters. Jaguars rookie wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter by all accounts is an athletic freak. He did things in high school that people hadn't seen before. He did things in college people hadn't seen before. Yes, the NFL is a different level, but athletes on occasion enter the NFL capable of doing things in professional football that people haven't seen before. Bottom line: We may have to stop looking at Hunter through the same lens as we look at "most players." The Jaguars selected him believing he's not remotely "most players." If they're correct, the concerns that might surround most players may not apply here.
Roscoe from Southside
O-Zone: It feels like the days of Noah when they loaded the ark – a pair of every kind. Two cornerbacks, two linebackers, and two running backs. Wow! I loved the Travis Hunter pick and the offensive guard Wyatt Milum pick, but was scratching my head about the others. Do you believe it was a smoke screen that the Jaguars' regime stated about beefing up the lines? It doesn't appear that they are really committed to that rhetoric. Higher value linemen were available at the linebacker and running back selection spots.
The Jaguars' talk about improving the lines was no smoke screen. They added six offensive linemen between free agency and the draft. They also have added one edge defender. Second point: There were not significantly higher-valued linemen available where the Jaguars selected linebackers and running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft – at least not according to the Jaguars' valuations. If there had been higher-valued linemen, the Jaguars would have selected them. We have to get used to Jaguars decision-makers not only saying they draft value over need but actually drafting value over need. There's a difference, which we saw this past weekend.
Karter from Sahuarita
As a fellow Naval Academy alum who spent my first few years stationed in Mayport, I always love when teams draft Midshipmen and am excited for the Jags to have finally done it. No clue if Lane will actually make the gameday roster, but I would find it awesome. Go Goats!
I wouldn't be surprised if safety Rayuan Lane III is active on games days as a rookie. The Jaguars like him as a special teams player. At the very least.
Pedal Bin Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King Of All Funk, I see Warren Zevon was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the "Musical Influence Award" category. This seems almost like a consolation induction, as if the Hall is saying "Oh yeah, we should have already inducted him. I suppose we'll give him something." Either you are in the Hall of Fame or you are not. Tony Boselli is in the Hall of Fame, Fred Taylor should be. It is not as if Fred is going to be elected under a "Running Back Influence Award." Seems a sly move in respect of Warren Zevon and unwarranted. He deserves the "full" induction.
A few thoughts here. One is that Zevon's son, Jordan, has said he has no problem with Zevon being selected with the "Musical Influence Award." Another is that based on my admittedly limited knowledge of Zevon, I think he would have been pleased and a bit surprised to have been honored. This is because he went through a long phase of his career in which awareness of his music had dwindled. Still another thought is I'm not all that big on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I kind of agree with Johnny Rotten's thought that the rebellious world of Rock and Roll having such a conventional way of honoring artists is ironic and perhaps a bit disingenuous. My final thought is that Musical Influence indeed doesn't seem quite the right way to honor Zevon. He was a genius and a high-end artist whose knowledge of classical theory heavily influenced his music, and his approach is therefore unique. He also was a lyricist on a level few in popular music have reached; few songwriters have matched what Bruce Springsteen called Zevon's gift for writing "something that had real meaning, and it was funny, too." I don't know how much he "influenced" music, because I don't know how many other artists could have hoped to have followed his lead.
Doug from Jax Beach
Is "Gene" really your uncle? LOL. And again, I thank you for the "Gene" inclusions. It really does save me time reading your otherwise informative insights!
Longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette is not my uncle. I should be so lucky.
Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA
Did you write that we may be going back to a form of 4-3? How many times has this team changed this defensive front? To hell with coaches and hybrid schemes nomenclature, let's please make the identity of the D 4-3 now and forever. There, identity crisis finally solved.
I indeed wrote early this week that the Jaguars will run "a form" of a 4-3 defense, but let's be clear yet again: Pretty much all NFL defenses these days run a hybrid scheme and therefore saying any defense is a "4-3" or "3-4" scheme is usually a dated and obsolete way of discussing defense. The sooner we all understand that, the easier it will be to discuss NFL defenses.
Sean from Saint Johns City
With the majority of the roster built, where do you have the Jags this year? I'd think in the 7-9 wins range.
We're in the same range. People inside the building see that range as a bit low.
Scott from Gilbert, AZ
KOAF. If the NFL was a track meet, our pass catchers would be very formidable. However, needing to convert third-and-4ish in the middle of the field against 240-pound linebackers with bad intentions is a reality of professional football. You can only call so many running back and tight end and screens, waiting in the pocket for your 4.3 racehorses to run verts or deep-posts against opposing NASCAR packages will knock you out of field-goal range more times than not, and inconsistent quarterback footwork against a corner sitting on a five-yard out is a recipe for disaster. So, who will Trevor's best friend be on third and medium? The guy you gave up more draft capital than any other player in franchise history because you need him to immediately turn around and play defense if you don't convert? We know that part of the field is not where BJT nor diminutive Dyami Brown will live, that Brenton Strange's 45 career catches over two years aren't enough to proclaim him the guy, and that mishandled balls to "Stone Hands" Davis in that part of the field will result in the football going the other way. While Parker Washington would do anything to get on the field, he was a former sixth-round pick because he lacks suddenness to quickly beat press and struggles to separate from athletic corners. Is $2.5M per year free agent TE2 Hunter Long the safety valve you trust to move the chains in clutch situations? Who will that guy be, Zone?
It strikes me that between Strange, Brian Thomas Jr., Hunter and Brown, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence could have a lot of friends next season. Four good friends is a lot in the NFL. It's more good friends than I have. Four more, actually.
Josh from Lakewood
I'm no doctor, but it seems like it'd be smarter to play Travis Hunter primarily at cornerback and plug-and-play him on offense than the other way around. I get the temptation to run a playmaker like him on every offensive snap, but didn't we get ourselves into trouble last year subbing front line defenders out for lesser athletes?
The Jaguars are treating Hunter as a receiver first and cornerback second because they believe this is how he will be the best player possible and most help the team.
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
Do the coaches and personnel staff get any downtime after the draft is over and the UDFAs are signed?
All gas, no brakes, baby.
