JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Eric from Jacksonville Beach, FL
The more I dig into Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone, the more excited I get. I know he was the Director of Scouting Strategy for the Los Angeles Rams from 2022-2024. In that time, they drafted running back Kyren Williams (2022) and wide receiver Puka Nacua (2023) in the fifth round, drafted outside linebacker Byron Young and defensive tackle Kobie Turner in the third round in 2023, who finished third and eighth in Defensive Rookie of the Year, respectively. He then drafted linebacker Jarden Verse and defensive end Braden Fiske last year, who won and finished third in DROY. That's an awesome track record on both sides of the ball! Excited to see what he can do with all our picks these next two years!
Gladstone indeed is impressive, which I've written enough lately that it's likely a bit repetitive. Hired in February after nine seasons with the Rams, Gladstone is a high-end communicator who in his most recent role collaborated with Rams General Manager Les Snead on strategic planning and ran the day-to-day operations of the Rams' scouting department. He did this as the Rams transitioned from a team trading away draft selections for a run to the Super Bowl title following the 2021 season to a team that drafted its way back to being a perennial playoff team. Snead joined me this week from the 2025 NFL Annual Meeting at The Breakers Palm Beach for the O-Zone Podcast, praising Gladstone's vision and roster-building skills. Rams Head Coach Sean McVay had this to say about Gladstone this week: "There's a calm demeanor and a clarity with which he communicates. He's able to connect. When I talked to [Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations] Tony Boselli when he was leading the search and he was going through all that there were looking for in a general manager candidate, I said, 'I wish I could tell you you're not explaining James Gladstone to a T, but you are.' We'll miss him. He'll do a great job there." It's true Jaguars fans have heard high praise for their leaders before. It's also true that there's a lot to like about Gladstone and a lot of reasons to be optimistic about how he will build the roster moving forward.
Phillip from Jacksonville
Do you really think the Jaguars will be better next season?
As I have said and written in recent weeks, I believe the Jaguars will improve in 2025. I think fans will see a team moving in the right direction. I think the record will improve. It's fair for cynics among us to note that it's not a big ask for the Jaguars to improve because they were 4-13 in 2024 with two victories over the Tennessee Titans, the team with the NFL's worst record. I expect the Jaguars to have a very real chance to be at least .500-ish. The belief within the building is they can contend for the AFC South title. If things break right, perhaps that belief can come to fruition. We'll see.
Greg from Jacksonville
Where the hell is everybody?
Out back.
Bill from Jacksonville
I know you didn't like it, but I'm disappointed the league didn't fix the playoff seedings.
You're referencing a proposed rule that would enable a wild-card team to have a better seeding than a division champion if the wild-card team had a better record. This would mean division champions not assured of a home playoff game. The proposal indeed was tabled at the league meetings – with Atlanta Falcons Chief Executive Officer Rich McKay, co-chairman of the NFL's Competition Committee, saying only "some" of the league owners supported changing the rule. This has been the case on multiple occasions over the last few decades, with most owners not wanting to diminish the importance of winning a division. I don't expect this rule to change anytime soon.
Andy from Brunswick, GA
Tush push? Yay or nay?
The owners this week also tabled a vote to prohibit the so-called Tush Push, the play used effectively by the Philadelphia Eagles in which backfield players "push" quarterback Jalen Hurts from behind in short-yardage situations. I expect owners to vote on this at their next meeting in May. I don't think it will be banned, but this feels closer than the seeding issue.
Rich from Dacula, GA
It has been stated that coaches can't have football talk with players yet. So how can coaches talk to players now? Hi, how are the kids? Wife? etc. So, the coach goes to dinner with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. What can they talk about? How does the NFL monitor this?
NFL head coaches by rule indeed can't talk football with players from the end of the season until the beginning of the following season's offseason program. The spirit of this rule is to prevent coaches from "strongly implying" and "hinting" that it would be "a good idea" to be at the facility every day and essentially have "implicitly important" meetings at a time when NFL players are taking deserved down time. Without specific rules, it's the nature of football coaches to find a way to work players year-round. Do coaches and players talk some football when they see one another at social functions or events during the prohibited dates? Sure. Are they sitting in meeting rooms in organized fashion poring over game tape or game plans? No. How does the NFL monitor this? As reasonably as possible to be sure the parties abide by the spirit of a necessary rule.
Joel from Yulee
Did you know that the best time to schedule a dentist appointment is tooth hurty? Don't ask me why my dentist friend told me that.
Jaguars 2025 Training Camp begins in late July.
Bradford from Orange Park, FL
Man, I gotta be soft? Just kidding. And you did say "we." So, professionally and respectfully done. I'm not averse to full acknowledgement of Trevor's struggles, in all areas in which he has had them. I'm just bullish on it being fair and within proper context (see by national NFL media's by and large doing the exact opposite). I just feel like if the guys you've got around you aren't sticking up for you in the moments they most should be (especially a head coach) ... I mean, what do you really even have? But your insinuated perspective to keep it moving forward isn't wrong, either.
I know many fans didn't like former Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson's approach during media availabilities. Many of these same fans thought he wasn't supportive of Lawrence. I know there were many areas Pederson thought Lawrence needed to improve. I know he didn't think he was elite yet. Perhaps this view shone through in media availabilities. I never found Pederson's comments about Lawrence unfair or unduly harsh. Then again, media availabilities by nature are overanalyzed and often don't reflect reality. This is because they're the only information fans have when games aren't being played. Either way, Pederson's thoughts on Lawrence indeed are an old story and not all that pertinent anymore. Maybe new Head Coach Liam Coen will always be uber-positive when it comes to … everything. Or maybe not. It's professional football, a game played by grown men. Not everything has to be nice.
J.Hooks from Orange Park, FL
Indeed it was T.J. Hockenson. In response to Willis from Jax regarding R.E.M.'s "Half a World Away." That's a great track. For once we know what Willis was talking about.
Perhaps we do.
Deane from Hill AFB via Daytona Beach, FL
Yo, O-Zone!!! For educational purposes, let's say the Jags take Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with the No. 5 pick. What position would you expect Gladstone to address next? What player would the O-Zone like to see available for our second round, No. 36 pick? My gut says take a defensive back, my Scooby sense, though, says take a wide receiver – maybe one of the Texas receivers or Royals from Utah State. Finally, can we get one fer those Gators that are still dancing?
I can't imagine Gladstone looking at the draft this way and Jaguars fans should hope he isn't looking at the draft this way. That's because looking at it this way means you're selecting too much on need and not enough on value. I expect the Jaguars to select a defensive lineman, a receiver, an edge rusher, an offensive lineman and a corner somewhere in the first four rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee sense – tells me they could select a running back somewhere in that range. This admittedly long-winded answer isn't intended to avoid the question, but to more specifically predict a second-round selection that would be uneducated guesswork in an attempt to portray knowledge I don't and can't possess. There are plenty of draft sites out there that do that far better than I.
Mark from Orange Park, FL
This is getting ridiculous.
Just wait.
