March 18, 2025 • 22 mins
Brian Sexton, John Oehser and Kainani Stevens take a deep dive into the Jaguars' free agency acquisitions and how they impact the roster. Later, the crew throws out some hot takes related to the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
What we were seeking to do in pro free agency
was to raise the four this football team, and every
player that we pursued and that we've now acquired is
meeting that standard and by being nothing more than who
they are and who we know them to be, both
on and off the field, they're gonna do exactly what
we would hope they do, and that's level up this ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Welcome to Dad, Jam, I'm kind Annie Stephens, Brian Sexton,
John Osier with me today as we're gonna go over
appropriate agency that went official last week, and we're gonna
do a sneak peak of the draft coming up as well.
Let's go through our big things today. For you. First
big thing, it's gonna be intangibly rich. That's something we've
heard from general manager James Gladstone throughout this process. Brian,
there's ninety players coming into town. Not all of them
(01:06):
are huge names, but a lot of this is about
getting in guys here that they know they can work
with or they've worked with before and kind of set
the standards for things.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
You know, Ky, that was my favorite phrase from Gladstone's
introductory press conference, and he used another one there ecosystem,
which is another word for culture, and he was looking
to bring in guys who would change the tenor of
the building in subtle ways just by the way they
go about their business. And obviously he and Liam Cohen
(01:35):
both had some ties to these guys, some of the
other coaches on the staff did. And I love the
fact that he said it, and he made the promise
that was what they were going to do, and he
delivered in free agency. And John, I know you think
about this because you've been hammering this team for years
about what they do in free agency, about spending, and
they went a completely different way.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
They spent moderate spending on the guys who are gonna
be starters, the two offensive linemen, Jommy Brown, a receiver,
Jordan Lewis, guys like that. Beyond that, they went after
what Gladstone thinks of as these intangibly rich guys. I
don't you know, ecosystem is culture, intangibly rich. I'm still
(02:19):
getting my arms around exact what that means. But I
think here's the thing, h James Gladstone knows what it means.
He knows what he's looking for. He has the ability
to enunciate that to everybody else, to make sure that
they know what he's looking for. He's always thinking about it.
He's always bringing in that type of guy. And I
(02:42):
think it is significant that a lot of these guys
are with the Vikings, with the Buccaneers, with the Rams,
places where Liam Cohane and James Gladstone, I mean, James
Gladstone and Grant Yudinsky have been before.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
There's a familiarity there.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Absolutely. Our second big thing today is gonna be open spots. Now.
Certain were targeted and free agency. We saw a lot
of offensive lines some players coming in there, but not
so much on the other side of football in terms
of the edge or pass rushers there. But James Gladstone
address up.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Yeah, we got ten picks in this year's draft. We're
gonna have to have some spots that are actually open
for them to insert. So, you know, if you add
a veteran at this point could be just.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Standing in the way. We're gonna allow these rookies to,
you know, get a chance to get out on the
field and help us this coming fall, perhaps stoking the.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Fire a little bit there. Obviously, John, we don't know
exactly what they're gonna do with the draft, but we
know any successful team is built through the draft, So
talking a little bit about drafting and having them play
right away, that's clearly gonna be a focus for this team.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Yeah, and I think the places that were left during
the you know, left of field or in the draft,
third edge rusher. I'll talk about it later, but I
think they still need a receiver in that front group. Secondary.
They're all places, Brian, where they have their starters, their
(04:02):
rotational positions. There are places where guys play a lot.
That next nickelback, the next receiver in the rotation, the
next edge rusher, you can go get them. If the
draft falls your way, you might see the first edge
you know, the third edge rusher be the five overall pick.
If it doesn't go that way, edge rusher, guess what,
(04:22):
that's usually a guy that you can pick up a
veteran in June. There's some guys that you can pick
up after the draft in those spots and rotate. So
I think that's sort of the spirit of this. You
don't want to fill spots where you bring in a
guy who you draft and you can't play, but you
want to make sure that guy has an opportunity to
develop at the right pace.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Our habit in the media is to focus on the
first round pick right at number five, And at number five,
the Jaguars could go any number of directions. There will
be a top cornerback available, there will be a top
defensive tackle available. The pass rusher from Georgia behind a
dual carter from p State is likely to be sitting
there available, and any number of offensive linemen, whether the
(05:05):
Campbell kid from LSU or the Membu from a Missouri
young man. There's a lot of opportunities at five. But
what about where you're picking in the second round and
the third round, where you have two picks, you can
find really good offensive lineman. You can find really good
football players across the spectrum sitting on Day two, Night two,
(05:26):
in round two and three, and I'd love it if
we could focus some there. It's harder to project because
you don't know exactly as you start getting into one
hundred players where everybody fits in, what teams think about them.
But when you look at where the Jaguars are picking
in round two, in round three, Ky, they're going to
have the chance to fill a number of spots.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Absolutely, They're gonna have a ton of flexibility there, which
will be good to see. Our final big thing today
is going to be forward focus. We talked a lot
in the off season about what a rebuilt here is
going to look like, whether it be a quick or
more longer term thing. As we're seeing the lay of
the ground work now, Brian, does it feel like it's
not necessarily as much a focus as doing this in
a year as doing it the correct way.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Well, here's the beautiful part about it. They are focused
on doing it the right way, and in doing it
the right way with the players that are here, there's
a chance for them to get right back into that
eight to nine win category, which in the AFC South
I believe would put them in the running for the
division title. Are they going to do that this year?
I don't know, But there's the short term ability if
(06:28):
the quarterback raises his level of play for them to
be able to capitalize in the first year of a
long term vision. If you go and talk to Liam
or James or Tony, they're gonna tell you we want
to win this year, but they're also going to say,
but our focus is on a three to five year plan,
so that when the stadium is up and running, we've
(06:48):
got a long term, sustainable, winning football team to fill
this building and to build pro football. I think you
can do both.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Yeah, I think clearly that's what free agency is about.
Le Get guys in who will. As James Glaston said,
raise the floor gets you better at some spots where
you felt like you were weak. I'm not gonna lean
too much of this offseason. In fact, they lost so
many close games last year, but there is a thought, hey,
get that floor up. Win a few of those close games.
(07:19):
All of a sudden, you're back to five hundred. If
the quarterback improves, if he develops, which is, you know,
at its core, the whole thing. If he doesn't, then
not a lot of his other stuff matters for next year.
If he does, then you're in good shape. But I
think the moves they've made can get you back to
what Brian talked about, that nine win playing in December
for something, and maybe you get a lot better than
(07:40):
you thought you were going to be.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
But it's about.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Sustainable, you know, three to five years. Yes, they believe
this is supposed to be about sustainable for the long
term future.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
All right, stay with us here on Jack's Samill hear
from some of those new free agents and why they
chose to come to Jacks.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I think there's a lot of new potential and opportunities here,
you know.
Speaker 6 (08:09):
I think looking at the roster, looking at the coaches,
hearing what they're trying to do here, that's something I
wanted to be a part of a change, you know,
and I hope I could do my part.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I want to do my part.
Speaker 7 (08:19):
I want to win football games and.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Get that done.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Nine new players, McCary coming from the Ravens. He's played
all five offensive line positions, and we talk a lot
about culture, changing, the ecosystem, whatever you want to call it.
I'm excited. I'm most excited to see what the offensive
line room kind of turns into. Obviously when you get
a good turnover of players there. There were some great
players there before Mitch Morse retiring. Of course, Brandon Sheriff
becoming a free agent this year, so I think things
(08:47):
will be different this year, and we want to start there.
We've talked about the trenches for months and months and months,
so to kind of set the tone there and be
able to kind of redo that room. Excited to see it.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
You know, you're taking a player out of the ecosystem,
he's in, but they bring with them part of the Ravens.
Back in the day, Tom Coffin liked to sign Steelers
right because he liked the mentality. Leon Searusly brought a lot.
Dion Figures, the cornerback, brought a lot to that side
of the ball. I'm excited for McCary. It was an
undrafted rookie who started all along the line and earned
(09:19):
this big contract. But because the Ravens have a sustained
culture of winning, you know, you don't always think about them.
Although in recent years with Lamar Jackson, you know, they've
been deep into the playoffs. But if you go back
to nineteen ninety seven, their first year in Baltimore, since then,
there were some rocky years early, they've been one of
(09:39):
the winning his franchises in football. They're just quietly consistent,
and this guy looks like one of those players that
goes about his business in the right way, in that
Raven way. Is something you'd like to see of here
in Jacksonville.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Yeah, I don't know that in terms of, you know,
the sacred pff raids that this line is going to
be that much, you know, better individually than the line before.
But I think it's going to have a different feel
and a different mentality. It clearly the idea, get this
(10:18):
team to be able to run on third and short. Better,
get this team to run when it matters better, and
then if you do that, it sets up so much
in the passing game, all the football one on one stuff.
I think that is what you're you're looking for out
of Hainsey and McCary. Can they bring you a little
bit more of an edge where you feel more confident
in that must run and Kay, you and I watched
(10:40):
games in the press box for the last two years.
How many times have I looked at you and said, boy,
third and one seems like a long way. They need
to have that feel shorter.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
That's this offensive line's job.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
And I think that we talk about that feeling a lot.
You want to be able to be confident in that.
Right we're upstairs thinking that, I don't think they're going
to get it.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Well. Defensive coordinators pick up on that, and so you
change your defense when you know the other team doesn't
feel confident running and you can stop that.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
When you can't do that.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
It limits your play calling so much offensively if they're
better there.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Brian they're better everywhere. Listen, I know the quarterback is
the number one story, but one b is the offensive
line giving him a running game that to me is
as important. In fact, that may be the reason that
he develops this year, is if they've got the ability
to convert on third and short or just to be
able to run the ball consistently. If you go back
(11:31):
and look at what Liam Cohen did last year. In
his year with the Buccaneers, they were a bottom five
running game. In twenty twenty three, they were a top
five running game in twenty twenty four. They did get
the rookie running back who came in and contributed in
a big way, but they also had the same offensive line.
I guess a rookie center step didn't played pretty well too.
You can make some changes, you can massage things, and
if you could get these guys from bottom of the
(11:52):
league on third down and short to somewhere in the
middle of the pack, that would be a huge jump on.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
The opposite side of the fall. One of the bigger
signings Jordan Lewis coming from the Cowboys as a cornerback.
Just the tone he's going to set as a trash
talker of course, but also just in general with the defense.
He talked a little bit about why ch was Jacksonville.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
We were talking about, you know, just building the culture,
you know, and being a a a cornerstone of that
that that rebuilding. I've always wanted to be a guy
to you know, be known for that, you know, be
known for a culture, and be known to you know,
change culture. So I I I love a a good
competition and I love a good challenge. So I feel
(12:34):
like this was the perfect place for me to go
out there and show that I belong in the NFL
and belonged and to be as one, you know, known
as one of the guys that you know, changed the culture.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Johnny think it always can be a little bit telling
when you see what the former fan base has to
say about him. And I think just the general vibe
that I'm getting, at least from what Cowboys fans are
saying and in media that cover him, is you know,
he's worked for and earned every little bit, and that
his role in the defense in Dallas was really underrated
in the way that he kind of held everything together there.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Yeah, he's a good player and he makes plays on
the ball, and I think more than anything. Lewis and
Murray they needed guys they trusted back there. They're clearly
not going to be here in twenty twenty eight, right
they're older players. Maybe they will be, but the odds
are there not. So they are guys who you feel
(13:28):
better about lining up with immediately. There are a lot
of misassignments last year in the secondary, some scheme stuff whatever.
They felt like they needed to get more solid back
there and have more guys they could trust.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Jordan Lewis's I even trust. If you want an indication
of his ability to change the culture, he just showed you.
He just said it to you. He's a guy who
wants to prove that he belongs in the NFL. He's
been in the NFL for eight years, right, He played
at Michigan and for the Dallas Boys the last twelve years.
This is a guy or eleven years. This is a
(14:04):
guy who has belonged on the biggest stage for a
very long time, and yet he still feels the need
to remind you that he wants to prove himself.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I like that.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I like that kind of guy on the back end,
because you've got to do that every single play, regardless
of what happened to play before, but they need an
injection and infusion of that in this locker room.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
As we talk about the scene, we always say it
will go as Trevor goes. So focus on the quarterback
is going to be huge this year. Of course, Swilliam
Cohen was brought in, but Micmullins also coming in quarterback,
having worked with Grant Yedinsky in Minnesota before, so it
kind of knows the system. Excited to get to work
with Trevor.
Speaker 8 (14:41):
He's done a lot of really successful things. He shot
every tool in the bag that you need to be successful.
So I told him, like, I'm here to help you
as much as as much as you like. I like
to think that my familiarity with the system and concepts
that we're going to run and the way to operate.
I feel like that's going to be beneficial or Trevor
in the whole room and I can't wait to get started.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Ryan has backup quarterback. But having some people around you
familiar with everything so then when you're learning something new,
that's another new system for Trevor Lawrence to be learning
on offense. But having all those pieces in place has
to be helpful.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
And this is a system guy. I mean he worked
with Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota, who comes from that tree
out of Los Angeles. He has been a part of it.
Good move. I don't know what else to say.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Yeah, and I thought you did a nice job in
his availability. Let's hope that was two availabilities, his first
and his last. Yes, if you're going to change systems
and culture at some point, you have to change people
within it. It's really hard to change quarterbacks. I mean
(15:49):
it's really hard to change systems for a quarterback if
the quarterback at the existing spot is still around everybody
who's talking old verbage mullin the first meeting, we'll be
talking the verbage of the new system. And that gets
you know, when you're trying to learn Spanish, you go
to Spanish speaking country. So I think that's a lot
(16:10):
of it is he knows the system, he knows the verbage.
And if they're sitting around and there's no coach in
the meeting and Trevor goes, hey, why'd they do this well,
and you can give them the quick answer and you
move on.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So it's a teaching position as well.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I think it's the little things important to remember that
things are going to be in place for Trevor to
kind of get acclimated as quickly as possible. Stay with us.
We're gonna do some hot takes after the break for
you on jags Am. Move the freight, Move the freight
Magellan Transport, but the coolest office space in Jacksonville. You
can apply online at Magellanlogistics dot com. Welcome back into Jagsam.
(16:49):
We haven't done some hot takes in a while, so
now we're going to do a couple of hot takes,
very preliminary draft, hot takes post free agency, giving us
a little bit more of a focus, not really we
don't know exactly what they're gonna do, but where we
would want them to go with the draft. So, Brian,
when you're looking at your hot take, fair preliminary draft,
or at your focusign.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
So give me an offensive lineman at number five. There
are some good ones that will be available, whether it's
Campbell from LSU or armand Membu from Missouri. Hope, I'm
pronouncing that right. You know, both are guys that can
play outside. Some are projecting both of them to be
able to play inside, maybe be better inside. I just
don't think you can go wrong with jamming that offensive
(17:30):
line room, which has underperformed in recent years. We just
got done talking about third down and short. With as
many really good players as you can, it's a good
draft for defensive tackles. You could get one of those
in the second round. There are opportunities for corner and
wide receiver into the third round. So give me the
big guy in the first round.
Speaker 8 (17:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I don't think that's the way they're going to go,
but I would not rule it out because I think
this offensive line, I don't necessarily think outside of Anton
Harrison that anybody like has a job locked up. The
logical guys to start are the ones that are in
the spots right now. But if you brought in number
(18:12):
five and one of those guys had to sit, there's
gonna be competition, and there's going to be an attitude
of we have seven or eight starters on the offensive line,
So I wouldn't rule that out. My hot take is
that there's still a big need a wide receiver, and
they have Brian Thomas Jr. And they have Brown, so
they're okay. Parker Washington, I think ideally is probably the
(18:35):
fourth guy rather than the third, So I want what
you want, which is which is rare. But I want
offensive line or I want defensive line early. I would
not rule out receiver early. And I think the first
four picks or receiver, edge rusher, somewhere offensive line and
(18:57):
somewhere in the corner. So that's my thought on that,
and then the fourth round pick is whatever I left out.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
We got two of them, so you can take both, right,
I mean, you can find players or trade up.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Maybe it's trade er, Jim.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
That's my Hustbay. I want some calls to be made because,
as we mentioned trade of Christian Kirk, there's now twenty
one draft picks in the next two years. That's a
lot of capital. If you watch any of the behind
the scenes stuff with the Rams, they love to trade around,
they love to make moves. I don't know how splash
it needs to be, but if you can get rid
of some of those picks, move up, get some people
that you're targeting. If there's a couple more quality players
(19:31):
and a couple less players coming in, I'm fine with that.
I don't need another draft class of you know, fourteen people.
If we can get some people that are filling those
key positions. As John laid out. I'm good with that.
I hope they get on the phones and kind of
figure that out.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
How many days until the draft?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Oh goodness, is it less than a month?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
No? Month?
Speaker 3 (19:49):
About five voice?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, all right, there's plenty of times I get on
the phone.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Sure, we'll figure it out. Yeah, soe playing.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I'll tell you what's coming up the rest of the week. Actually,
I'm brought to you by Fresh from Florida. It's always
in season.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
I hope what they see is someone who cares. I
hope that shows in my play. I think it does
because I do. I care a lot, care about my teammates,
I care about the team. Those are the things that
I want to be evident in my play. They want
to see a guy finishing all the way of the whistle,
picking up his teammates first one there to give them.
If I'm not doing that, text me, shoot me, tweet me,
(20:37):
tell me I'm not doing it, because that stuff's important
to me.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
It's Robert Hainsey, my one on one last week. He says,
if he's not doing what he needs to do out there,
text him, tweet him. I don't think Jaguars Twitter needed
that motivation, but they will find him if he's not
doing what he needs to be doing. But that's what
you want to hear, right, You want to hear someone
that's accountable, knows what needs to be done, and wants
to be held accountable by other people.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
The magic words I care about that stuff. Great. Again,
that's what they were looking for with this free agent
classic group that would come in. They're going to get
paid obviously, and they're going to have to play, but
you want that what's the right word, ecosphere, ecosystem, Yeah, John.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
With the next coming days, we talked about the draft,
how far out it is, they do some visits with players,
what's kind of coming up for the front office as.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
They look for to the draft.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Your next big step is the thirty players come in,
and that's often an indication, not necessarily a first round,
but as you go through the draft, it's an indication
of guys they like and guys who are on their
short list that you're trying.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
To find more about.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Never believe what you read about the draft coming in,
but that top thirty visit, Brian, it has in recent
years sort of giving you an indication of at least
the kind of guy teams like.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Yeah, there'll be players on there that people's name, you know,
they won't be household names. So Seth Payne walked through
the door in nineteen ninety seven. He was a defensive
tackle from Cornell. Why are you bringing this guy in?
Because they like it and they took him. So there
are players every year that will filter through that thirty
and because they're going to be their fourth round pick.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Yeah, we leave Andrew ingerd I think came in for
a thirty visit and he was a free agent. So
it's not necessarily about getting thirty guys in the first round.
It's about making sure you have a good feel for
guys you like. It's a final look very good.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Keep an eye on that the coming weeks, and we'll
be back with you next week here on Jack's Am.
What we were seeking to do in pro free agency
was to raise the four this football team, and every
player that we pursued and that we've now acquired is
meeting that standard and by being nothing more than who
they are and who we know them to be, both
on and off the field, they're gonna do exactly what
we would hope they do, and that's level up this ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Welcome to Dad, Jam, I'm kind Annie Stephens, Brian Sexton,
John Osier with me today as we're gonna go over
appropriate agency that went official last week, and we're gonna
do a sneak peak of the draft coming up as well.
Let's go through our big things today. For you. First
big thing, it's gonna be intangibly rich. That's something we've
heard from general manager James Gladstone throughout this process. Brian,
there's ninety players coming into town. Not all of them
(01:06):
are huge names, but a lot of this is about
getting in guys here that they know they can work
with or they've worked with before and kind of set
the standards for things.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
You know, Ky, that was my favorite phrase from Gladstone's
introductory press conference, and he used another one there ecosystem,
which is another word for culture, and he was looking
to bring in guys who would change the tenor of
the building in subtle ways just by the way they
go about their business. And obviously he and Liam Cohen
(01:35):
both had some ties to these guys, some of the
other coaches on the staff did. And I love the
fact that he said it, and he made the promise
that was what they were going to do, and he
delivered in free agency. And John, I know you think
about this because you've been hammering this team for years
about what they do in free agency, about spending, and
they went a completely different way.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
They spent moderate spending on the guys who are gonna
be starters, the two offensive linemen, Jommy Brown, a receiver,
Jordan Lewis, guys like that. Beyond that, they went after
what Gladstone thinks of as these intangibly rich guys. I
don't you know, ecosystem is culture, intangibly rich. I'm still
(02:19):
getting my arms around exact what that means. But I
think here's the thing, h James Gladstone knows what it means.
He knows what he's looking for. He has the ability
to enunciate that to everybody else, to make sure that
they know what he's looking for. He's always thinking about it.
He's always bringing in that type of guy. And I
(02:42):
think it is significant that a lot of these guys
are with the Vikings, with the Buccaneers, with the Rams,
places where Liam Cohane and James Gladstone, I mean, James
Gladstone and Grant Yudinsky have been before.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
There's a familiarity there.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Absolutely. Our second big thing today is gonna be open spots. Now.
Certain were targeted and free agency. We saw a lot
of offensive lines some players coming in there, but not
so much on the other side of football in terms
of the edge or pass rushers there. But James Gladstone
address up.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Yeah, we got ten picks in this year's draft. We're
gonna have to have some spots that are actually open
for them to insert. So, you know, if you add
a veteran at this point could be just.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Standing in the way. We're gonna allow these rookies to,
you know, get a chance to get out on the
field and help us this coming fall, perhaps stoking the.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Fire a little bit there. Obviously, John, we don't know
exactly what they're gonna do with the draft, but we
know any successful team is built through the draft, So
talking a little bit about drafting and having them play
right away, that's clearly gonna be a focus for this team.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Yeah, and I think the places that were left during
the you know, left of field or in the draft,
third edge rusher. I'll talk about it later, but I
think they still need a receiver in that front group. Secondary.
They're all places, Brian, where they have their starters, their
(04:02):
rotational positions. There are places where guys play a lot.
That next nickelback, the next receiver in the rotation, the
next edge rusher, you can go get them. If the
draft falls your way, you might see the first edge
you know, the third edge rusher be the five overall pick.
If it doesn't go that way, edge rusher, guess what,
(04:22):
that's usually a guy that you can pick up a
veteran in June. There's some guys that you can pick
up after the draft in those spots and rotate. So
I think that's sort of the spirit of this. You
don't want to fill spots where you bring in a
guy who you draft and you can't play, but you
want to make sure that guy has an opportunity to
develop at the right pace.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Our habit in the media is to focus on the
first round pick right at number five, And at number five,
the Jaguars could go any number of directions. There will
be a top cornerback available, there will be a top
defensive tackle available. The pass rusher from Georgia behind a
dual carter from p State is likely to be sitting
there available, and any number of offensive linemen, whether the
(05:05):
Campbell kid from LSU or the Membu from a Missouri
young man. There's a lot of opportunities at five. But
what about where you're picking in the second round and
the third round, where you have two picks, you can
find really good offensive lineman. You can find really good
football players across the spectrum sitting on Day two, Night two,
(05:26):
in round two and three, and I'd love it if
we could focus some there. It's harder to project because
you don't know exactly as you start getting into one
hundred players where everybody fits in, what teams think about them.
But when you look at where the Jaguars are picking
in round two, in round three, Ky, they're going to
have the chance to fill a number of spots.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Absolutely, They're gonna have a ton of flexibility there, which
will be good to see. Our final big thing today
is going to be forward focus. We talked a lot
in the off season about what a rebuilt here is
going to look like, whether it be a quick or
more longer term thing. As we're seeing the lay of
the ground work now, Brian, does it feel like it's
not necessarily as much a focus as doing this in
a year as doing it the correct way.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Well, here's the beautiful part about it. They are focused
on doing it the right way, and in doing it
the right way with the players that are here, there's
a chance for them to get right back into that
eight to nine win category, which in the AFC South
I believe would put them in the running for the
division title. Are they going to do that this year?
I don't know, But there's the short term ability if
(06:28):
the quarterback raises his level of play for them to
be able to capitalize in the first year of a
long term vision. If you go and talk to Liam
or James or Tony, they're gonna tell you we want
to win this year, but they're also going to say,
but our focus is on a three to five year plan,
so that when the stadium is up and running, we've
(06:48):
got a long term, sustainable, winning football team to fill
this building and to build pro football. I think you
can do both.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Yeah, I think clearly that's what free agency is about.
Le Get guys in who will. As James Glaston said,
raise the floor gets you better at some spots where
you felt like you were weak. I'm not gonna lean
too much of this offseason. In fact, they lost so
many close games last year, but there is a thought, hey,
get that floor up. Win a few of those close games.
(07:19):
All of a sudden, you're back to five hundred. If
the quarterback improves, if he develops, which is, you know,
at its core, the whole thing. If he doesn't, then
not a lot of his other stuff matters for next year.
If he does, then you're in good shape. But I
think the moves they've made can get you back to
what Brian talked about, that nine win playing in December
for something, and maybe you get a lot better than
(07:40):
you thought you were going to be.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
But it's about.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
Sustainable, you know, three to five years. Yes, they believe
this is supposed to be about sustainable for the long
term future.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
All right, stay with us here on Jack's Samill hear
from some of those new free agents and why they
chose to come to Jacks.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I think there's a lot of new potential and opportunities here,
you know.
Speaker 6 (08:09):
I think looking at the roster, looking at the coaches,
hearing what they're trying to do here, that's something I
wanted to be a part of a change, you know,
and I hope I could do my part.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I want to do my part.
Speaker 7 (08:19):
I want to win football games and.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Get that done.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Nine new players, McCary coming from the Ravens. He's played
all five offensive line positions, and we talk a lot
about culture, changing, the ecosystem, whatever you want to call it.
I'm excited. I'm most excited to see what the offensive
line room kind of turns into. Obviously when you get
a good turnover of players there. There were some great
players there before Mitch Morse retiring. Of course, Brandon Sheriff
becoming a free agent this year, so I think things
(08:47):
will be different this year, and we want to start there.
We've talked about the trenches for months and months and months,
so to kind of set the tone there and be
able to kind of redo that room. Excited to see it.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
You know, you're taking a player out of the ecosystem,
he's in, but they bring with them part of the Ravens.
Back in the day, Tom Coffin liked to sign Steelers
right because he liked the mentality. Leon Searusly brought a lot.
Dion Figures, the cornerback, brought a lot to that side
of the ball. I'm excited for McCary. It was an
undrafted rookie who started all along the line and earned
(09:19):
this big contract. But because the Ravens have a sustained
culture of winning, you know, you don't always think about them.
Although in recent years with Lamar Jackson, you know, they've
been deep into the playoffs. But if you go back
to nineteen ninety seven, their first year in Baltimore, since then,
there were some rocky years early, they've been one of
(09:39):
the winning his franchises in football. They're just quietly consistent,
and this guy looks like one of those players that
goes about his business in the right way, in that
Raven way. Is something you'd like to see of here
in Jacksonville.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Yeah, I don't know that in terms of, you know,
the sacred pff raids that this line is going to
be that much, you know, better individually than the line before.
But I think it's going to have a different feel
and a different mentality. It clearly the idea, get this
(10:18):
team to be able to run on third and short. Better,
get this team to run when it matters better, and
then if you do that, it sets up so much
in the passing game, all the football one on one stuff.
I think that is what you're you're looking for out
of Hainsey and McCary. Can they bring you a little
bit more of an edge where you feel more confident
in that must run and Kay, you and I watched
(10:40):
games in the press box for the last two years.
How many times have I looked at you and said, boy,
third and one seems like a long way. They need
to have that feel shorter.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
That's this offensive line's job.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
And I think that we talk about that feeling a lot.
You want to be able to be confident in that.
Right we're upstairs thinking that, I don't think they're going
to get it.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Well. Defensive coordinators pick up on that, and so you
change your defense when you know the other team doesn't
feel confident running and you can stop that.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
When you can't do that.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
It limits your play calling so much offensively if they're
better there.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Brian they're better everywhere. Listen, I know the quarterback is
the number one story, but one b is the offensive
line giving him a running game that to me is
as important. In fact, that may be the reason that
he develops this year, is if they've got the ability
to convert on third and short or just to be
able to run the ball consistently. If you go back
(11:31):
and look at what Liam Cohen did last year. In
his year with the Buccaneers, they were a bottom five
running game. In twenty twenty three, they were a top
five running game in twenty twenty four. They did get
the rookie running back who came in and contributed in
a big way, but they also had the same offensive line.
I guess a rookie center step didn't played pretty well too.
You can make some changes, you can massage things, and
if you could get these guys from bottom of the
(11:52):
league on third down and short to somewhere in the
middle of the pack, that would be a huge jump on.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
The opposite side of the fall. One of the bigger
signings Jordan Lewis coming from the Cowboys as a cornerback.
Just the tone he's going to set as a trash
talker of course, but also just in general with the defense.
He talked a little bit about why ch was Jacksonville.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
We were talking about, you know, just building the culture,
you know, and being a a a cornerstone of that
that that rebuilding. I've always wanted to be a guy
to you know, be known for that, you know, be
known for a culture, and be known to you know,
change culture. So I I I love a a good
competition and I love a good challenge. So I feel
(12:34):
like this was the perfect place for me to go
out there and show that I belong in the NFL
and belonged and to be as one, you know, known
as one of the guys that you know, changed the culture.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Johnny think it always can be a little bit telling
when you see what the former fan base has to
say about him. And I think just the general vibe
that I'm getting, at least from what Cowboys fans are
saying and in media that cover him, is you know,
he's worked for and earned every little bit, and that
his role in the defense in Dallas was really underrated
in the way that he kind of held everything together there.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Yeah, he's a good player and he makes plays on
the ball, and I think more than anything. Lewis and
Murray they needed guys they trusted back there. They're clearly
not going to be here in twenty twenty eight, right
they're older players. Maybe they will be, but the odds
are there not. So they are guys who you feel
(13:28):
better about lining up with immediately. There are a lot
of misassignments last year in the secondary, some scheme stuff whatever.
They felt like they needed to get more solid back
there and have more guys they could trust.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Jordan Lewis's I even trust. If you want an indication
of his ability to change the culture, he just showed you.
He just said it to you. He's a guy who
wants to prove that he belongs in the NFL. He's
been in the NFL for eight years, right, He played
at Michigan and for the Dallas Boys the last twelve years.
This is a guy or eleven years. This is a
(14:04):
guy who has belonged on the biggest stage for a
very long time, and yet he still feels the need
to remind you that he wants to prove himself.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I like that.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I like that kind of guy on the back end,
because you've got to do that every single play, regardless
of what happened to play before, but they need an
injection and infusion of that in this locker room.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
As we talk about the scene, we always say it
will go as Trevor goes. So focus on the quarterback
is going to be huge this year. Of course, Swilliam
Cohen was brought in, but Micmullins also coming in quarterback,
having worked with Grant Yedinsky in Minnesota before, so it
kind of knows the system. Excited to get to work
with Trevor.
Speaker 8 (14:41):
He's done a lot of really successful things. He shot
every tool in the bag that you need to be successful.
So I told him, like, I'm here to help you
as much as as much as you like. I like
to think that my familiarity with the system and concepts
that we're going to run and the way to operate.
I feel like that's going to be beneficial or Trevor
in the whole room and I can't wait to get started.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Ryan has backup quarterback. But having some people around you
familiar with everything so then when you're learning something new,
that's another new system for Trevor Lawrence to be learning
on offense. But having all those pieces in place has
to be helpful.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
And this is a system guy. I mean he worked
with Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota, who comes from that tree
out of Los Angeles. He has been a part of it.
Good move. I don't know what else to say.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Yeah, and I thought you did a nice job in
his availability. Let's hope that was two availabilities, his first
and his last. Yes, if you're going to change systems
and culture at some point, you have to change people
within it. It's really hard to change quarterbacks. I mean
(15:49):
it's really hard to change systems for a quarterback if
the quarterback at the existing spot is still around everybody
who's talking old verbage mullin the first meeting, we'll be
talking the verbage of the new system. And that gets
you know, when you're trying to learn Spanish, you go
to Spanish speaking country. So I think that's a lot
(16:10):
of it is he knows the system, he knows the verbage.
And if they're sitting around and there's no coach in
the meeting and Trevor goes, hey, why'd they do this well,
and you can give them the quick answer and you
move on.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So it's a teaching position as well.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I think it's the little things important to remember that
things are going to be in place for Trevor to
kind of get acclimated as quickly as possible. Stay with us.
We're gonna do some hot takes after the break for
you on jags Am. Move the freight, Move the freight
Magellan Transport, but the coolest office space in Jacksonville. You
can apply online at Magellanlogistics dot com. Welcome back into Jagsam.
(16:49):
We haven't done some hot takes in a while, so
now we're going to do a couple of hot takes,
very preliminary draft, hot takes post free agency, giving us
a little bit more of a focus, not really we
don't know exactly what they're gonna do, but where we
would want them to go with the draft. So, Brian,
when you're looking at your hot take, fair preliminary draft,
or at your focusign.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
So give me an offensive lineman at number five. There
are some good ones that will be available, whether it's
Campbell from LSU or armand Membu from Missouri. Hope, I'm
pronouncing that right. You know, both are guys that can
play outside. Some are projecting both of them to be
able to play inside, maybe be better inside. I just
don't think you can go wrong with jamming that offensive
(17:30):
line room, which has underperformed in recent years. We just
got done talking about third down and short. With as
many really good players as you can, it's a good
draft for defensive tackles. You could get one of those
in the second round. There are opportunities for corner and
wide receiver into the third round. So give me the
big guy in the first round.
Speaker 8 (17:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I don't think that's the way they're going to go,
but I would not rule it out because I think
this offensive line, I don't necessarily think outside of Anton
Harrison that anybody like has a job locked up. The
logical guys to start are the ones that are in
the spots right now. But if you brought in number
(18:12):
five and one of those guys had to sit, there's
gonna be competition, and there's going to be an attitude
of we have seven or eight starters on the offensive line,
So I wouldn't rule that out. My hot take is
that there's still a big need a wide receiver, and
they have Brian Thomas Jr. And they have Brown, so
they're okay. Parker Washington, I think ideally is probably the
(18:35):
fourth guy rather than the third, So I want what
you want, which is which is rare. But I want
offensive line or I want defensive line early. I would
not rule out receiver early. And I think the first
four picks or receiver, edge rusher, somewhere offensive line and
(18:57):
somewhere in the corner. So that's my thought on that,
and then the fourth round pick is whatever I left out.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
We got two of them, so you can take both, right,
I mean, you can find players or trade up.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Maybe it's trade er, Jim.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
That's my Hustbay. I want some calls to be made because,
as we mentioned trade of Christian Kirk, there's now twenty
one draft picks in the next two years. That's a
lot of capital. If you watch any of the behind
the scenes stuff with the Rams, they love to trade around,
they love to make moves. I don't know how splash
it needs to be, but if you can get rid
of some of those picks, move up, get some people
that you're targeting. If there's a couple more quality players
(19:31):
and a couple less players coming in, I'm fine with that.
I don't need another draft class of you know, fourteen people.
If we can get some people that are filling those
key positions. As John laid out. I'm good with that.
I hope they get on the phones and kind of
figure that out.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
How many days until the draft?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Oh goodness, is it less than a month?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
No? Month?
Speaker 3 (19:49):
About five voice?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, all right, there's plenty of times I get on
the phone.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Sure, we'll figure it out. Yeah, soe playing.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I'll tell you what's coming up the rest of the week. Actually,
I'm brought to you by Fresh from Florida. It's always
in season.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
I hope what they see is someone who cares. I
hope that shows in my play. I think it does
because I do. I care a lot, care about my teammates,
I care about the team. Those are the things that
I want to be evident in my play. They want
to see a guy finishing all the way of the whistle,
picking up his teammates first one there to give them.
If I'm not doing that, text me, shoot me, tweet me,
(20:37):
tell me I'm not doing it, because that stuff's important
to me.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
It's Robert Hainsey, my one on one last week. He says,
if he's not doing what he needs to do out there,
text him, tweet him. I don't think Jaguars Twitter needed
that motivation, but they will find him if he's not
doing what he needs to be doing. But that's what
you want to hear, right, You want to hear someone
that's accountable, knows what needs to be done, and wants
to be held accountable by other people.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
The magic words I care about that stuff. Great. Again,
that's what they were looking for with this free agent
classic group that would come in. They're going to get
paid obviously, and they're going to have to play, but
you want that what's the right word, ecosphere, ecosystem, Yeah, John.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
With the next coming days, we talked about the draft,
how far out it is, they do some visits with players,
what's kind of coming up for the front office as.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
They look for to the draft.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Your next big step is the thirty players come in,
and that's often an indication, not necessarily a first round,
but as you go through the draft, it's an indication
of guys they like and guys who are on their
short list that you're trying.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
To find more about.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
Never believe what you read about the draft coming in,
but that top thirty visit, Brian, it has in recent
years sort of giving you an indication of at least
the kind of guy teams like.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Yeah, there'll be players on there that people's name, you know,
they won't be household names. So Seth Payne walked through
the door in nineteen ninety seven. He was a defensive
tackle from Cornell. Why are you bringing this guy in?
Because they like it and they took him. So there
are players every year that will filter through that thirty
and because they're going to be their fourth round pick.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Yeah, we leave Andrew ingerd I think came in for
a thirty visit and he was a free agent. So
it's not necessarily about getting thirty guys in the first round.
It's about making sure you have a good feel for
guys you like. It's a final look very good.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Keep an eye on that the coming weeks, and we'll
be back with you next week here on Jack's Am.
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