JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Kevin from St Johns, FL
Look, I know the draft matters – especially for a franchise that has historically treated draft picks like emotional support animals – but this year I just can't get myself worked up. Am I the only Jaguars fan suffering from a severe case of "No‑No. 1‑Pick‑itis?" Without that big, shiny, franchise‑altering top pick to obsess over, all the mock drafts and analysis have basically turned into white noise. Normally, I'm devouring scouting reports like they're Bullet Bobs and counting down to draft day like it's Christmas. This year … I am just kind of staring at the board like, 'Eh, wake me when it's our turn.' This is not normal for a Jags fan. Do I need some kind of draft‑enthusiasm intervention?
I expect you're far from alone among Jaguars fans in this feeling, and with reason. Not only will this likely be the first time in franchise history the team has not selected a player in Round 1 of the NFL Draft, the Jaguars finished 13-4 and therefore hold the No. 24 selection of Round 2. That makes it hard to even imagine a trade into the shiny, mock-draft-oriented world of Round 1. Considering the franchise has had so many down years in the last two and a half decades, it's understandable that many Jaguars fans have become accustomed to getting their NFL highs on the enticing fumes of not only free agency but the annual pre-draft process and post-draft hopeful euphoria. But know this: This lack of enthusiasm you feel for the draft – far from being concerning – is incredibly healthy. While the draft is critical to any NFL franchise, it's rarely a quick-fix, immediate boost in the way many analysts present it – and therefore many fans expect. The draft is how good teams build long-term sustainable rosters, but it often takes at least a year for draft classes to make major franchise-altering impact on the field. It sounds as if you're approaching the draft as fans of good, sustainable teams have learned to approach it – as a tentpole part of the offseason, but in no way the highlight of the NFL calendar. Welcome to long-term sustainability. It seems for the first time in a long time the Jaguars are getting there. It's cool stuff. Trust me: If it's real, you'll learn to enjoy it.
Rog from STA
Considering the unusual amount of dead money this year, will there be an acceptable amount targeted each year going forward?
The Jaguars have the NFL's seventh-most dead money on the salary cap – so while their $53.4 million in dead cap wasn't ideal, it wasn't insane. This is particularly true considering three teams – the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets – are over $100 million. The Jaguars, in fact, are "only" about $13 million over the league average – though the extreme numbers of the aforementioned three teams certainly contribute mightily to the average being so high. Six teams are under $10 million this year, so staying in the single digits – single "million" digits, anyway – is a decent objective.
Adrian from Reading, UK
When it comes to humorous and insightful NFL quotes, I always find it hard to beat the one attributed to former NFL running back Leroy Hoard: "Coach, if you need one yard, I'll get you three yards. If you need five yards, I'll get you three yards."
Good stuff.
Brett from Shoalhaven Heads, Australia
Hi, O. Can you explain why the NFL season is so short? Our NFL season runs for 27 rounds, followed by a four-week finals series. Top players also play international games post-season in addition to the season games. All this with teams of 17 (13 on the field).
I'm not sure I've heard anyone call the NFL season "short." Training camp begins in late July and the Super Bowl seemingly drifts deeper into February by the season, with 17 regular-season games and potentially four postseason games – and with three preseason games. That's 24 games, which is almost half of a 52-week calendar year. Considering the size of players, the speed at which they play, the violence of the sport and the fact that it's already a league of attrition – with the NFL at least trying at times to make the game safer – that's long. Really loooong.
Kevin from Jacksonville Beach, FL
So, you are a Bourbon guy. What is your favorite and have you ever driven the Bourbon trail in Kentucky?
I haven't done the trail – yet – and I don't pretend to be a "Bourbon guy" on the level of my cousin Wes, an upstanding man of character who can differentiate between bourbon brands with a sniff and a tiny drop on the tongue. I like Knob's Creek because the bottle's cool and I also like that little red thing on the Maker's Mark bottle. And I respect Jack – and you should, too. Because he's undefeated.
MrMakersMark from Temporarily Sec 216, Row X
Thanksgiving dish? Yes, fine choice
I am the king of all funk.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
The reason Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker's contract will take more than a phone call or a group text is because he isn't Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson signed an extension six or seven months ago – quite possibly after the Lions' general manager sent a group message saying, "Let's give Hutch the most money in NFL history for a non-quarterback … everyone agree?" I will not recite the normal and advanced stats for Hutch and Walker, nor the Pro Football Focus grades (particularly the against the run grades), and I will refrain from talking about all the things that make Hutch arguably the most intangibly rich player in the game today. I will not mention these because like any good mouthpiece with the power to suppress evidence, you will and have when I tried. You can't post the facts and still claim Walker is better without severely damaging your credibility. All I will say is "The Jags could have had that man" and not drafting him was former Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke's biggest mistake.
I'm guessing Hutchinson's negotiation was more than a group text. I don't know Hutchinson, so I can't comment on his "intangible richness." I can tell you Walker is as intangibly rich as any player I've ever covered. I expect many among us will continue to spin ourselves up periodically comparing them and wondering "what if?" That's fine. They're different players. They're both elite in different ways.
John from Jacksonville
Does a player get a salary increase when the team exercises their fifth-year option? If so, what is the potential increase in Anton Harrison's salary cap hit in year five?
Former first-round selections who play their fifth season on a "fifth-year" option play that season for a guaranteed salary based on one of four tiers: Multiple Pro Bowls (salary equal to franchise tag tender for the position), one Pro Bowl (salary based on transition tag tender for the position), player plays at least 75 percent of snaps in two of first three seasons, averaged 75 percent over all three, or played 50 percent in each season (salary based on average of the third-to-20th-highest salaries at their position); none of first three criteria met (salary based on average of the third-to-25th-highest salaries at their position). If the Jaguars as expected exercise the fifth-year option on Harrison for 2027, he will be tier three. My lazy math is his contract will be about $20 million for 2027, with his 2026 salary-cap figure about $4.2 million. That makes the potential increase about $15.8 million.
Josh from Atlanta, GA
Not asking for any specifics on picks, but if you were forced to say as of today which is more likely: We stay at 56, or trade our way up a bit higher?
I will be a little surprised if the Jaguars don't try to move up from No. 56 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. I don't think they will be able to move into Round 1 from there.
Nicholas from Fort Hood, TX
KOAF: A man once wrote in 2011 that George Plimpton once wrote a great April Fools' article in Sports Illustrated in 1985. Are you working on any good April Fools' stories? Maybe Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence traded to the Tennessee Titans for the next three first-round draft picks in order to save cap space and re-sign or sign free agents?
Plimpton's SI story on Sid Finch remains the defining April Fools' sportswriting story. It was so good that it made others unnecessary. The thing about April Fools' stories is this: Left to the wrong writer they are heavy-handed, not particularly entertaining and grossly misleading without benefit – and often a combination of all three. The "wrong writer" in this instance is anyone who's not Plimpton. The reality is that with that one very notable exception they're the playground of amateur writers and have no real place in journalism. So … no, I don't expect I'll be writing an April Fools' story this year. Or any year.
