When the national media’s wing of NFL Draft analysts began sinking their teeth into the future of the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise during January, Trent Baalke was still the general manager. Owner Shad Khan has since brought in a new head coach in Liam Coen and a new executive vice president in the franchise’s only Hall of Famer Tony Boscelli. That was before Baalke was replaced with James Gladstone.

With the front office rebooting, here are a few offseason moves that tell us things have changed in the front office’s thinking leading to 2025 draft day.

Releasing Top Targets

The Duval Devout was hit with several shockwaves as fan favorites found new destinations. Two of them were veterans in wide receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram. Both of them having recorded a career year with quarterback Trevor Lawrence at some point in their stay with the Jaguars, these departures imply that Jacksonville is in the market to bolster their repertoire of weapons. While they acquired Dyami Brown from the Washington Commanders, the cupboard is still looking comparatively bare- especially considering the uncertain futures of Gabe Davis and Parker Washington on the roster.

This uncertainty suddenly makes drafting Arizona’s Tet Mcmillan at #5 overall more than just a conspiracy theory among the Duval Devout. Even more so if the “Travis hunters” in the fanbase see the Heisman Trophy winner out of Colorado selected in any of the previous four spots. It would also be foolish to rule out the drafting of multiple receivers should the right type of player become available. A tight end in later rounds also isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Bolstering the Offensive Line

For all of the talk in the Baalke regime about being more physical in the trenches, this new triumvirate of Coen, Boscelli, and Gladstone hit the ground running to that end. They brought in four offensive line assets to build credible balance on the ground for their air attack. Regardless of whether they acquire a new running back in the draft or not, the new linemen acquired may lower the priority of taking a guard, center, or tackles with pick #5. Chuma Edoga, Robert Hansey, Fred Johnson, and Patrick Mekari are all veteran guys who represent upgrades compared to those whom the Jaguars lost. But the versatility of Edogo and Mekari also casts doubt on whether any new faces would be added to the inside of outside of the line.

That being said, with Coen declaring that protecting Lawrence would be a priority and Boscelli previously playing the position at a Hall-of-Fame level in the league, it’s highly likely that later rounds are peppered with guys that would add depth.

Acquiring Talent in the Secondary

The defensive backfield had another season of woeful struggles connected to injury. Over and above that, losing Ronald Darby at corner and Andre Cisco at safety represent holes that need to be filled.

They brought in veteran safety Eric Murray and cornerback Jourdan Lewis to fill gaps. Does this mean that the Jaguars will pass on Hunter if he falls to them at five? — Absolutely not. However, if a safety they like drops in the late first round, such as Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts, I would fully understand the Jags making a leap to go get him.

While many experts had the Jaguars selecting Michigan defensive tackle Graham in their mocks early on, there have been movements suggesting they head another direction which may include trading the fifth overall pick.  If that happens, chaos will ensue, and literally, the only thing one can be assured is the Jaguars still won’t be drafting a quarterback.

However, it’s also worth noting that Gladstone is on record saying that he is leaving spaces on the roster for assets he’s drafting. The position groups that have seen the least change is the defensive front within the defensive line and linebacker corps. Whether that means the landscape is still ripe for them to draft Graham or another defensive tackle in this deep class remains to be revealed.