JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Yeti from Somewhere and Yeti Nowhere
O, Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone is getting blasted by many. Some seem to not understand and some feel the draft went well for us. In the NFL, tradition – especially in the draft – holds sway until a better, new or more effective way comes along. Could it be that we are seeing that type of change before our very eyes with this Jaguars draft? A team that does it a different way? A "new" that doesn't feel right to traditionalists? Looking for that Duval DNA and not just athletic skill? Everyone in the draft had athletic talent, but not all fit a team's DNA. How do you quantify this?
There may be something to this. While it's hard to say for sure it's a trend, the Jaguars are among teams now leaning different directions at times than "traditional" teams. The Los Angeles Rams and Jaguars, for example, are among teams whose main decision-makers do not attend the NFL Scouting Combine or bring prospects to their facilities for "Top 30 visits." This is certainly new – and something of a trend. We'll see if teams follow. I don't know that the Jaguars following their "Duval DNA" is as much of a trend as it is saying they are selecting players they believe fit how they want to play. That's something teams have done with varying degrees of success for a long time. There's also a longstanding tradition of people grading drafts in the immediate aftermath of a draft and paying little attention to the reality that those grades are premature – and not all that connected to any sort of reality. We can probably expect that tradition to continue for a while.
Tom from Charlottesville, VA
NFL late-round successes (Rounds 5-7 or lower) have produced legendary Hall of Fame players, most notably sixth-round quarterback Tom Brady (seven Super Bowls) and seventh-round tight end Shannon Sharpe. Other major steals include running back Terrell Davis (sixth round), defensive end Richard Dent (eighth round) and recent successes such as San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (last pick, 2022). These players often become high-impact starters or All-Pros despite low initial expectations. I am sure the fans of these teams felt that their team wasted picks at the time of that draft!
Late-round selections have low expectations for a reason – because there statistically is a very low chance they develop into anything close to a high-end starter. For every success story along the lines of the players you cite, most teams have stretches of years where they get two or three decent seasons from late-round selections before moving on with more late-round selections – and so forth. That said, late-round selections matter. If you "hit" on a few enough consistently to get special teams and depth, that's good. If you happen to have a "hit" big enough to sign a second contract on occasion, you're running ahead of the crowd.
Eddie from Jagsonville
So, what do they do with the rest of the hats?
The RealReal?
Tom from Charlottesville, VA
The NFL is listening!!! They read the Zone daily and have made changes to football as we know it! Starting next year, they will name the free-agent winning team and that team will play the draft winner selected by sportswriters, draft gurus, etc., and have a playoff bowl in June. The noncontact game winner will automatically have a place in a conference final the following Super Bowl season. This will make all the draft analysis and free-agent signings relevant and eliminate all the angst. What a money maker for the NFL! This will make all the teams sign and/or draft just the way their fans want! I think the people who make the decisions know more than the fans until they don't. (Hope you have a good laugh).
Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. Hold on to that hope. Maybe what you want will happen someday.
Keith from Saint Augustine, FL
I guess "telling it like it is" died with Howard Cosell.
Maybe somewhere. Not here.
Lawrence from Blair, NE
Been away for a while O, so I apologize if this has come up and I missed it. But why don't they just call it the "Media Consensus Board?" That's all it is. One little word added in front of it and all this drama goes away. The drama comes because people who don't know any better would see that name and certainly think it's the NFL teams' consensus, not the media consensus. Help me out, John! Get it to Bucky! Surely, he can get the word out and make it pass through the 1500 podcasts and YouTube shows he's on.
You're referencing a recent national debate on Tweeter/X or some letter that bled into this forum, with the debate beginning when a few national draft "experts" thought some selections in the 2026 NFL Draft were too earlier. These experts thought this because they had these prospects valued lower than the teams doing the selecting – and it was the Jaguars being among these teams that caused the discussion to bleed into our little world. Many of these experts began using the phrase "consensus board" – as if such a consensus of draft analysts magically and inarguably determined a player's value and where a player should be selected. Why don't "they" just call it a "media consensus board?" I don't know why "they" do what they do and I don't know if I could pick "they" out of a lineup. We already have given this thought MUCH more time than it merits. "They" can call it whatever "they" choose," and I expect they – like many "theys" – will call it whatever name makes their argument easier to make. None of that will change that teams must draft based on their own scouting and research. Anything else is ludicrous. And don't call me surely.
Daryl from Jacksonville
O, 11 Personnel, 12 Personnel, 13 Personnel. Can 14 Personnel be next or a wildcat formation with five tight ends. Would that be 15 Personnel?
I don't know what they would call it, but it would be something to see.
Woody from Dunlap
KOAF: Several comments related to the Jaguars' selections of tight end Nate Boerkircher (Pick No. 56) and guard Emmanuel Pregnon (Pick No. 88). Comment 1: Practically all the draft sites I visited regularly while developing my own mock draft had Pregnon going early in the second round (well before our Pick No. 56). He was rated as the second-best offensive guard in the draft by multiple draft sites. Therefore, I never considered him as being available to us at all. To be able to grab him with Pick No. 88 is a tremendous accomplishment! Comment 2: Within the Top 15-ranked tight ends by NFL Draft Buzz, the top two with exceptional blocking abilities as well as respectable catching abilities were Boerkircher and Sam Roush. Boerkircher had a significantly better catch percentage than did Roush. Boerkircher was described by several draft sites as having exceptionally soft hands who attacks the pass when thrown to him. Given this information, it does not appear that selecting Boerkircher at No. 56 was that much of a reach. What say you, Obi-wan KOAF?
I say the Jaguars selected Boerkircher No. 56 overall because he was the tight end they wanted and all their projections, research and information told them he would not be available when they selected No. 81 overall. I also say I doubt the Jaguars expected Pregnon would be there at No. 56 or 81 – much less No. 88 and they were glad when they were able to select him there.
Jadon from NC State
Who is the best player to wear No. 12 for the Jags in Jaguars history?
This isn't the deepest number in this ongoing discussion, with the following players the most likely candidates: Wide receiver Mike Brown (2012-2014), wide receiver/returner Devin Duvernay (2024), wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter (2025-present), quarterback Luke McCown (2009-2011), quarterback Jonathan Quinn (1998-2001) and wide receiver Dede Westbrook (2017-2020). There's really no clearcut choice here, but there are a lot of distant names. Give the nod to Hunter here, because he needs to be the answer sooner rather than later.
Jeff from Crystal Lake, Ill/Ortega Forest
No. 10, Josh Scobee. He generally kept the ball in the fairway, and when he didn't, his short game kept him out of serious trouble. What a kicker!
One fer that guy.
Ryan from Detroit, MI
If the plan is for us to run a lot more 12 and 13 personnel - which of our top 3 WRs is getting squeezed off the field?
I expect Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers likely will be in most of the Jaguars' packages next season. I also expect Brian Thomas Jr. and Hunter to play enough in enough packages that it may be hard to call any particular wide receiver a "starter" or WR1 or WR2.
