No pick? No problem! That seems to be the new normal for the new regime in Jacksonville. As Thursday night in Pittsburgh came and went without the Jacksonville Jaguars calling a name and with it, a quiet piece of franchise history went into the record books. For the first time in the 32-year history of the team, the organization did not make a pick in the opening round of the NFL Draft.
The first round offered Jacksonville fans something somewhat unexpected for past years, NFL Draft day one clarity.
With the Cleveland Browns using the pick surrendered in the Travis Hunter trade to select wide receiver KC Concepcion, Jaguars fans now have a much clearer picture of the full cost of that 2025 draft trade up. But beyond the draft capital accounting, Thursday night also offered something broader for the Jacksonville fanbase, starving for draft day action: a glimpse into what it may look like to root for a franchise run by James Gladstone.
A front office willing to sit out the first round entirely, trust the process, and allow the board to come to them is a different kind of operation than what Jacksonville fans have generally been accustomed to, and Thursday night made that abundantly clear. Additionally, the team never seemed close to making a deal to enter the first round action via a trade up. “We had some calls earlier in the day to gauge what paths could exist should they present themselves,” Gladstone stated following the draft. “Nothing transpired even in real time that would have been worth it.”
For context, sitting out the first round is nothing new for the organization that shaped Gladstone’s front office philosophy. The Los Angeles Rams under Les Snead became synonymous with trading away first-round picks, treating early draft capital as currency to be spent on veteran talent, rather than selections to be hoarded to be used in the draft. The Rams didn’t make one first-round pick from 2017 to 2023 due to multiple trades, including the Jalen Ramsey trade (where Jacksonville received 2020 and 2021 first-round picks) and the Jared Goff trade (2022 and 2023 picks lost). Prior to this year’s draft, only one selection had been made by the LA franchise over the past nine years: Jared Verse in 2024.
Actually using first-round pick in a Snead or Gladstone-led operation is a genuine rarity, and Thursday night in Pittsburgh was simply the latest reminder that Jacksonville is now operating from that same blueprint.
It may be time to truly get comfortable with quiet opening NFL Draft nights, Duval. This could be a new normal in North Florida.
