JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Boxcutter Bill from Massachusetts
Shoulder injury and new footwork. I really like T-Law and I hope he taps into his potential. Playing quarterback in the NFL is already hard, now he's dealing with hurdles before the season jumps off. Do you think he's going to be OK?
Life's full of hurdles. Some are bigger than others. And Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence indeed is facing some hurdles this offseason. In addition to the ones you cite – adapting to new footwork concepts within Head Coach Liam Coen's scheme and recovering from December surgery on his non-throwing shoulder – Lawrence also is adjusting to a new offense under Coen. That last "hurdle" is perhaps the biggest and most unfortunate in that it means Lawrence is learning a third offensive in five NFL seasons. This is not ideal, but it also should be kept in perspective. Are Lawrence's offseason hurdles what you want in his fifth NFL offseason? No. Are they un-hurdle-able? Certainly not. He's in Year 5. He's a seasoned veteran. He's mature. This is a key time for him. It's up to him now to show he can clear the hurdles and be the quarterback so many project and expect.
Tim from Fort Wayne, IN
The last year Jacksonville drafted a running back in the Top Five, the Jaguars led the league in rushing and held a ten-point lead in the AFC Championship Game. I don't understand fans acting like drafting running back Leonard Fournette No. 4 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft was an unmitigated disaster. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty wouldn't be my first choice at five, but I wouldn't be scared off based on the history of it. I'd love to repeat those results.
I'm very much of the school to not select a running back in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft. Those of us in this school believe that the position usually depends largely on blocking and what's going on elsewhere in the offense – we believe, too, that as a rule you can get close to the production from a later-round running back as an early first-round running back. But there are exceptions to all rules and there are different schools. Another school, for example, believes that you take "special players" with potential All-Pro and Hall of Fame traits in the Top 5 of an NFL Draft – and many draft analysts believe Jeanty is one of a very few players in this draft with those traits. That school isn't necessarily wrong.
Anita from Springfield
At some point to build a great offensive line you need to spend premium picks on them. But it increasingly feels like we won't. Do you get the feeling there are any offensive linemen we're looking at for No. 5?
Not at the present time. This doesn't mean the Jaguars aren't scouting potential first-round offensive linemen. It means there may not be an offensive linemen worth selecting that early.
Mike from Daytona Beach, FL
Maybe consider Ashton Jeanty at Pick No. 5 if he's Saquon Barkley?? The KOAF throws another 80 mph fastball over the heart of the plate! We know that Saquon Barkley of 2018-2023 was not the Saquon Barkley of 2024. The 2018 - 2023 Barkley averaged only 869 yards and 5.8 touchdowns per season and a pedestrian 4.3 yards per carry. "King" Barkley of 2024 ran for 2,005 yards, scored 13 touchdowns, and averaged 5.8 yards per carry. The difference? The early version of Barkley had to run behind a woeful New York Giants offensive line, while King Barkley played behind a top-five Philadelphia Eagles line.
Barkley is a good player, a special player, an elite player. He has been such a player his entire NFL career. If Jeanty is as good as Barkley, or as good as Fred Taylor, or as good as Adrian Pederson, he would be a fine selection at No. 5.
Tom from The Mean Streets of Nocatee
Speaking of Ivan, 'member when Gene fought Drago in Moscow and caused the entire USSR to collapse? That was awesome.
Longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette's victory in the fight you cite indeed led to the collapse of the former Soviet Union. It speaks to Gene's body of work that this is usually not among the first feats mentioned when discussing his legacy.
Deane from Hill AFB via Daytona Beach, FL
Yo, O-Zone!!! Call me old school, but at No. 5 let's draft Jeanty and bring back the wishbone and the T-Formation with Jeanty, Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby in the backfield! What says you, O-Zone??? Am I onto something??? Or is it lack of oxygen due to change in altitude?
OK, you're old school. In fact, you're very old school. And while Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen does want to reemphasize – and improve – the running game, you may be a little too old school.
Neil from Gilbert, AZ
Get out of here. You've been here for 14 years?!? To me you'll always be that new guy who used to work for the friggin' Colts.
I indeed returned to Jacksonville a little more than 14 years ago – in early March 2011, to be exact. I now have been back in Jacksonville four years more than I was gone. It seems time flies when you're having whatever it is we have here.
Brian from Round Rock, TX
What is the purpose of the man bras? Didn't George's Dad and Kramer invent those?
I never know what's going on.
Charles from Riverside
Seems like the tight end position has evolved to become a major weapon in the passing game vs. old-school run blocking? But if the Jags are going to stress the running game, if they pick a tight end, could we expect more of a pass blocker physical guy vs. a primary receiver?
If they select a tight end early in the first round, it almost certainly would be either Tyler Warren of Penn State of Colston Loveland of Michigan. Jaguars and NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks on the pair: "They're similar in terms of high grades, but they're different in terms of playing style. Warren wears 44 to pay homage to [Hall of Fame running back] John Riggins and he plays the game like The Diesel (Riggins) in terms of his physicality and toughness at the position. He can catch the ball over the middle and is a throwback at the position. He reminds me of what [San Francisco 49ers tight end George] Kittle has become." Brooks called Loveland "more a true flex tight end. "He's more of an all-around H-back type," Brooks said. "He's going to catch passes on improvised plays and work the middle of the field."
Bradley from Sparks, NV
I'm guessing Ashton Jeanty isn't classified as special pre-draft because he has only faced one top 10 college defense in his career and he struggled in that game. I think there are some equally intriguing backs that should be available in the second and third rounds at a much lower price. I think defensive tackle is arguably the most undervalued position in today's NFL and Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham looks like an immediate impact starter and long-term cornerstone with a decent chance of being elite.
Jeanty absolutely is classified as special as the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, making him one of three-to-five such players in this draft class. The primary reason he hasn't been widely projected as a Top 5 selection is many NFL personnel people and analysts by rule often don't project the position that early in the draft. Most NFL people disagree that there are second- and third-round backs who are equally intriguing as Jeanty. Defensive tackle Mason Graham isn't an undervalued position in the NFL at all. Pretty much any personnel type will rank it along with offensive line and edge rusher as perhaps the most important position after quarterback. Graham certainly will be an immediate starter as a rookie and has a chance to be elite; he's just not considered by many analysts to be quite on the level of Jeanty and a few other "special" prospects.
DuvalJag95 from J-ville
Have been a diehard fan of the Jags since we were awarded the team in 1993 and played our first game in 1995. I know you say we need to be nice here, but I've been in or around football my whole life so it's a little hard for this 59-year-old brain to comprehend people not wanting a new stadium. I love this city and this team win, lose or draw. I understand some people have never been into any kind of sport, so I get it on that end. But even with that said how can someone not see what's happening in this great city of ours? Downtown is finally becoming a place to go spend time with friends and family for whatever reason. Thanks.
No problem.
