Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manger James Gladstone speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jaguars Among Draft's Most Mysterious Teams

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Apr 22, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a true wild card.

Jacksonville is set to be in a much different position than any other team this draft cycle -- at least most other teams, that is.

The Jaguars are set to be one of the teams that could define the early part of the 2025 NFL Draft. With the Jaguars moving forward with a new regime in general manager James Gladstone, head coach Liam Coen and EVP Tony Boselli, the Jaguars are a team with no track record for any other team to try to follow.

On The NFL Spotlight podcast from Ari Meirov, the Jaguars were labeled as one of the biggest question marks of the entire draft weekend.

"When you speak to NFL people, especially at the top of the draft, the most common question is, 'What are the Jaguars doing at No. 5, and what are the Jets doing at No. 7?' Those two buildings are awfully quiet," Meirov said.

"Those two teams in particular, very difficult to figure out ... A lot of the teams in the top 10 are like, 'What are they doing, and who's going to be available for us when it's our turn?'"

Considering both teams have first-time head coaches and general managers, it isn't surprising to see them linked as teams working under some mystery ahead of the draft.

The Jaguars have certainly moved the way they have for a reason. The Jaguars have kept things close to the vest this offseason, going as far as to not even host any players for top-30 visits in part due to strategic reasons.

"So, I don't view myself as having this extreme super power of deciphering the complexity of a person in an hour, right? I would probably say I can work that in tandem, but there are other mechanisms that we tend to lean into to help us determine whether or not a player is, in fact, a fit for us, more than just a singular touch point that would be a top 30 visit," Gladstone said.

"We have a lot of additional mechanisms that we deploy that don't necessarily put us at risk for the rest of the world to know what direction we're heading. So often those become public-facing touch points at which point you're sacrificing some version of strategy come Draft day as well.”