JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Charles from Riverside

Hello, John. A couple days back you wrote "The scheme expected to be run by [offensive coordinator Grant] Udinksi and [Head Coach Liam] Coen is more based on the principles of Sean McVay's offense with the Los Angeles Rams – which tends to emphasize the run and play-action more with an emphasis on dictating to defenses." That's great news in that the Jags have a history of great running backs, Freddie (Fred Taylor) and MJD (Maurice Jones-Drew) for sure, and is what we as fans fan for. How does that play out in the draft? Were our poor rushing numbers last year a product of a poor offensive line, or our backs? Does the emphasis on the run help set up a successful play-action? Also, it seemed to my untrained eye that Trevor has been better at play-action than pocket? Again, is that on him or a product of the inability of the offensive line to protect. If you agree, any thoughts on that?

A few thoughts on your thought – and on your (more than a few) questions. One thought is that the Jaguars' history of running backs – though indeed rich and impressive – will have no effect on their running game moving forward. Another is that I don't expect the Jaguars to select a running back early in the 2025 NFL Draft. Another (and I'm combining answers here) is that a struggling running game almost always can be attributed to offensive line/blocking as opposed to running backs – and a strong running game almost always is critical to successful play-action passing. Finally, I would say quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been very good as a play-action passer in four NFL seasons. This is usually the case because a successful play-action fake usually gives a quarterback more time to throw against single coverage – and those two elements make it a lot easier to complete passes.

Kevin from Brentwood HS

Are NFL players allowed to request deferred compensation that would lower their pay that counts toward the salary cap?

It's not necessarily that players request this, but teams and players can agree to – and structure – contracts that count more toward the salary cap in some years to allow a team to maneuver around the cap.

Bryan from Tampa, FL

We're still criticizing our general manager from a decade ago for picking small-school players? Our last general manager loved measurables and traditional football schools like Georgia, Louisiana State and Oklahoma. We're picking in the Top 5 again and have yet another general manager. Let's just draft good football players.

OK.

Justin from NYC

It seems like every mock has us selecting the same guy. Where do you put the odds I'll be eating crackers on draft day?

My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee Sense – tells me you're efforting a joke involving University of Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham being projected to the Jaguars far more than any other players at No. 5 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee sense – tells me this because there might be some connection with Graham and graham crackers or something like that. I got confused. Or maybe I lost interest. It sort of feels like the same thing.

Marcus from Melbourne, FL

Just want to let Sam know that Charles Grant, the offensive tackle with inside flexibility from William & Mary, is a pretty good prospect for this year's draft.

Shad Khan … hire this man!!

Pookie from Panda City

"Hello, Mr. Oehser? This is the operator. In Monday's O-Zone, you had said, 'They're trying to get better, not worse.' I have the receivers' room on the line, and they'd like to have a word. Please hold while I connect you."

I'm not available to speak to the receivers' room right now. But you can relay the following message. I believe you're suggesting that the Jaguars' wide receiver room has gotten worse this offseason, presumably because the team traded wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Houston Texans and released tight end Evan Engram. This presumption probably would be correct if we're discussing the 2022/2023 versions of those players. But when the Jaguars decided to part ways with those players, they were also considering their 2024 production and their recent injury history. When considering those factors, your presumption is perhaps not as correct.

Gene's Turkey from Thanksgiving

Trust me, you don't want to cross Gene. He will mess you up.

Longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette also is one of the area's top culinary talents. If he's preparing a dish a certain way, then that's the way.

Daniel from Johnston, IA

Has any coach ever said something to you where you were surprised, then realized it was actually an insightful and unique thought and changed the way you looked at it?

I can't say I recall a specific such incident. I can say I have spent the last three decades listening to many, many NFL coaches and many, many personnel officials speak about football. All have had their shares of unique thoughts and insights – and I have learned from all of them. This is because I never have lost sight of the reality that even coaches/personnel officials who don't succeed have spent their careers focused on their specific area of expertise and therefore have insights I can't possibly possess. Their thoughts are therefore worth respecting and considering, so in that respect all the coaches and personnel officials have shaped how I see the game. For it to be otherwise, would be more than a little silly – and really arrogant – on my part.

Chevin from Jacksonville

I generally consider there are two fundamental schools of thought regarding NFL pass defense: "Rush the passer and the coverage will be there" or "Cover and the pass rush will be there." The former of the two appears to be the philosophy of this new regime. To your keen KOAF observer's eyes, does this appear to be the case?

My experience is most successful defenses lean to the former thought – and while I personally have seen multiple quality pass rushes cover for weaker secondaries, I haven't seen it much the other way. I think this regime believes it has some solid pieces in place along the defensive line and that there's some work to be done in the secondary.

Brian from ROUND ROCK, TX

If you fill all the holes with the rejects that you hyped up, when do the rookies get on the field? Is it before people assume they can't play because they aren't on the field? How does a rookie develop if he doesn't play? Is it during underwear practice for a few weeks in the offseason?

Welcome back. I assume you last read the O-Zone or listened to anything said on this site before mid-March. That's because what has been written here and said on Jaguars Media channels since the Jaguars signed 10 unrestricted free agents at the start of the 2025 League Year has been pretty consistent – even close to unanimous. That's that most of the players signed were not superstars but starting-level players to raise the roster's floor. General Manager James Gladstone specifically addressed your second point recently when asked about not yet signing a third pass rusher – that the Jaguars purposely left some spots with the idea that there will be playing opportunities for multiple rookies. Insider tip: More than 22 players play for a team in most NFL games. Just because the Jaguars filled holes with starting-level players in free agency doesn't mean there's no room for young players to play.

Scott from Gilbert, AZ

Zone, the other day a reader submitted a comment regarding Trevor's generational talent in high school and college not yet demonstrated in the NFL. I agree with you that this league is almost like a completely different sport than college football and therefore often takes time for guys to assimilate, especially at the quarterback position. And, while it's easy to see how Lawrence's measurables made him a man among boys in high school, I think the notion of a "completely different sport" was truer of Tee Higgins at Clemson with his ability to out-body, outjump and outplay ACC corners to grab the exorbitant amount of 50/50 balls Trevor launched his way that resulted in those other-worldly stats and the Tigers' ability to move the ball, score and win games more so than Lawrence actually being a true "generational quarterback."

OK.

Amy from Jacksonville

Mr. O. I think now is the time that all these mock drafts come out and mess with my head. What say you, KOAF?

I saw if you're reading mock drafts as anything more than amusement and a general guide for the top 10-to-20 players you're exerting way too much effort.

Al from Fruit Cove, FL

John, you often tell us to "stay tuned". But how do we become tuned in the first place, and how do we know how tuned we are?

Read the O-Zone.