Gene Smith has been true to his word. The Jaguars have not been a player in high-priced free agency and the team's general manager maintains his emphasis on building through the draft.
"When you're holding a baby, you got two hands on it, right? If I was holding a draft pick, I'd have two hands on it. That draft is how you sustain winning," Smith said in an interview with jaguars.com.
Smith discussed his first unrestricted free-agent signing, safety Sean Considine, and indicated the Jaguars have another couple of free agents in mind before the team turns its attention back to the draft.
"I got a top character guy," Smith said when asked about Considine. "He has started 17 games in the league. We feel he can compete to be the starter (at strong safety). He's been an outstanding special teams player, as well."
Considine signed a two-year contract that represents very little risk for the Jaguars. He's a player the Jaguars know can help their special teams and they believe he has every-downs potential, too.
"I had good knowledge of him coming out of college. You're talking about a guy who's passionate about football. He's an asset in more than one way," Smith said of Considine.
The Jaguars hosted defensive lineman C.J. Mosley on Monday. Mosley can play tackle or end.
"We're doing what we said we were going to do. We're not going to be a big player on the high-profile guys. We're going to get guys in here who we think can be starters or role players. We're trying to improve our roster," Smith said. "I think you can get value in pro free agency. You can get young, ascending players and role players."
The Jaguars roster is at 65 players, which is above the league average at this point in the offseason. "I think it's a young, ascending roster," Smith said.
"We're going to stay the course. We have to make few mistakes and have a good youth base. To not be a one-year wonder you have to do it through the draft," he added.
Considine is 27, Mosley is 25.
