JACKSONVILLE - Let's get to it...
Ron from Orlando, FL
Do you now believe that walking into the draft with a predetermined list and choosing those players, regardless of where they are projected to be taken, is more effective than taking the best available player?
I don't believe that is a good way to draft at all. The best way is to enter a draft having identified players you believe are draftable – and that fit your organization – and to group those players so as to allow you to select them based on a mix of value, need and other factors such as where you must draft the players to ensure you get the players. You mentioned something in your question about "best available player." That sounds as if you want teams to rank players, go directly down a list and take the top player remaining regardless of position. Always and without question. That means you believe there is such a clear and obvious difference in ability between every player that intangibles don't matter – and that the nuances of roster construction are no object. That's a naïve way to approach the draft.
JK from NY & Fernandina Beach, FL
Hey, John. In his post-draft press conference, Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone said, "A lot of guys have talent, but the mindset is the differentiator."
The Jaguars in the 2026 NFL Draft selected players they believe will fit and help them win. How much a player is or isn't "touted" before the draft is a big deal from January to April of his draft year and not particularly important any time after that. Or ever, for that matter.
The Oracle Gladstone, InnaKitchen
What is really going to bake your noodle later on is … do you think Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon would still have been there at Pick No. 88 if I hadn't broken open the jar of tight ends in the second round?
Probably. But maybe not. Perhaps. We'll never know. Or will we?
Dave from Los Angeles, CA
Too much fretting about the draft. They can all turn out to be "just guys" and that will barely matter in comparison to the main key to success for this team: the continued development, dare I say ascendance, of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
There is truth in this statement. The Jaguars need drafted players – more than a few of them, anyway – to be more than just guys. You need some core and you need some foundation. But you also need your franchise quarterback to keep playing like a franchise quarterback and to keep developing like a franchise quarterback.
Dean from Rochester, NY
While pondering your recent quote about throwing the garbage bag out the window, it occurred to me that I forgot armed robbery was illegal.
It says sprocket. Not socket.
John from Fleming Island
Judging a general manager by grading rookies who haven't taken an NFL snap seems flawed — but what is your take on our 2025 draft class?
My take on the Jaguars' '25 draft class is it has a real chance to be a very good draft, particularly if wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, guard Wyatt Milum and safety Caleb Ransaw develop as expected. We'll start getting a real feel for this in September.
Chris from Mandarin
Oh God, you stay locked in hitting us with bars on bars, and your game is fire, no cap. When words are your trade, you trade words.
When you work with words, words are your work.
Josh from GREEN BAY, WI
I saw that Calais Campbell is signing with the Baltimore Ravens for the year and see it will be his 19th season in the NFL. What are your thoughts on him getting a gold jacket someday?
The voting dynamic for the Pro Football Hall of Fame has changed enough – and not for the better – in recent seasons that I don't have as good a feel as I once did about what players will or will not be enshrined. Here is hoping the Hall readdresses it because it has become too limiting in recent seasons. I think former Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell deserves to be enshrined and I hope it happens. I also think former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor and former Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith are deserving.
Roger from Houston, TX
Well-played Steve Martin reference!
What?
Jadon from Raleigh, NC
Who is the best Jaguars player of all time to don No. 10?
We will roll back into this topic now that the 2026 NFL Draft is drifting not-so-calmly into the rear view. Candidates here would include quarterback Jamie Martin (1998-2000), quarterback Mac Jones (2024), wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (2020-2021), wide receiver Donte Moncrief (2018), kicker Brandon McManus (2023) and kicker Riley Patterson (2022). It seems like I'm missing someone. I can sense it.
Daniel from Callahan, FL
How do the draft picks that are watching the draft at home have the hat of the team drafting him in his hand?
The NFL sends packages with the caps of all 32 teams to a lot of the "top prospects" so that they may wear the cap of the team selecting them upon their selection.
Bradford from Orange Park, FL
The "Duval DNA laboratory?" Dude. After 15 years (had to look it up, how crazy is that?), do you not know enough about me and my passionate love of this team to throw your boy a reference for a position in the lab? I'll keep my pinpoint accurate assessments of this team and my uncanny ability to successfully know exactly what to do in any given situation to myself, unless asked. I'd do it for you, bro.
Call me. If I don't answer, leave a message. If you don't hear from me for a while, be patient. If you still haven't heard from me, keep being patient.
Jim from Jax
During this period of downtime, I thought it would be fun - while also completely random - to break down chess pieces as a football offense. Here's my take: King=quarterback. Queen=running back. Knights=tight end. Bishops=slot receivers, Rooks=wide receiver. Pawns=offensive line. I particularly like tight end as knight, especially in today's NFL.
Wow. That was fun.
Jesse from Texas
Does Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen make the daily O-Zone required reading for all active players on the Jaguars? And if so, is the main goal to help guide said players through constructive criticism, which in turn, should improve their play on the field?
I certainly hope neither Coen nor Jaguars players spend much – if any – time reading the O-Zone on a daily basis. This is a forum for fans to be informed and – perhaps – entertained. I expect neither coaches nor players find very much to learn here and they might not find themselves all that entertained. I can't imagine it improving their play. This is this and that is that – and rarely the twain shall meet.
Richard from Jacksonville
If everyone dislikes the Jaguars' draft, I ask who should they have drafted? Random players deep into the draft that would likely have minimal impact next year? Or see the draft for what it was, completely revamp the tight end room and allow Coen to open up more of his playbook for specific personnel packages? (While drafting for value on the O-line and filling spots of need.) This is the process of becoming a consistent quality team. They simply weren't in a position to draft the shiny single impact player or adhere to Best Available Player and have the immediate impact this draft class can have next year. I'm not saying he's the smartest person in every room but he's from the Sean McVay tree. A man who has an eidetic memory. I'd put Gladstone's IQ up against most people making big boards and mock drafts, present company excluded.
Fans fan. It's what they do.
Steven from El Sobrante
Adam from Allentown never said or implied that the Jags will only run one personnel package (only that they would be running more 12 and 13 even though wide receiver is a strength. So why did you respond that teams run more than one package? That wasn't an actual answer. Follow up: did you not understand his question?
Adam from Allentown asked a fine, understandable question. I understood it in fine, understandable fashion. He asked if the Jaguars were devaluing the wide receiver position because they planned to run more multiple tight-end packages. I replied that teams run more than one personnel package because teams run more than one personnel package, which means sometimes you need a lot of good tight ends and sometimes you need a lot of good wide receivers. The Jaguars following the 2026 NFL Draft appear to have more good tight ends than they did before the draft, which means they should be better equipped to run 12 and 13 personnel. They still have good wide receivers, which means they should remain well-equipped to run three-receiver sets. I haven't the foggiest idea if that was an "actual answer." It's my best swing at this time.
