JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen have no problem waiting their turn this weekend.
The Jaguars aren't scheduled to make their first selection in this week's NFL draft until pick No. 56 in the second round, which will come roughly around 10 p.m. ET on Friday.
"Waited a lot longer before," Coen joked.
That was in 2022, when Coen was the offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. The team didn't make its first pick until No. 104, the next-to-last pick in the third round. Gladstone was with the Rams then, too, as the team's director of scouting strategy.
"You're always going to stay agile," Gladstone said. "You're never bored. You're always thinking through what we might be able to do. I think that mental gymnastics certainly is an engaging element regardless of where your first pick point is."
While Gladstone and Coen are old hats at this -- the Rams never picked higher than 52nd in Coen's four seasons and had just two first-round picks in Gladstone's nine seasons (2016 and 2024) -- it's the first time in Jaguars history that the franchise won't have a first-round pick.
Jacksonville traded it last year as part of the package to move up three spots and select receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall.
This draft cycle is also opposite of last year, when everything seemed to be happening at double speed for the Jaguars front office. Coen was hired on Jan. 23, 2025, but Gladstone wasn't hired until Feb. 21, which was 17 days before the opening of the free agency legal tampering window and two months before the draft. Not much time for the two to get on the same page with the state of the roster, evaluating prospects and figuring out a plan.
"A little less frantic [this year], I guess you could call it, in terms of how fast everything happened last year, getting not just scouting staff onboarded, but the coaches then onboarded to new procedures and modes of operation," Coen said. "I think some of the familiarity has helped the flow in the way that we operate on a day-to-day basis, the schedule, the routine, what the coaches expect. That's been very clear and concise throughout the process.
"I think it's just allowed us to maybe get to different or deeper dialogue maybe a little bit quicker on some of the guys that we're really honing in on [in this year's draft]."
The Jaguars have 11 picks, including four from 56-100, and Gladstone and Coen feel good enough about the state of the roster that they're planning on taking the "best player available" approach with each pick. They're not necessarily focusing on finding players that need to start immediately -- if that happens because they out-perform an incumbent, great -- but those that can contribute as rookies and then potentially develop into key players or replacements for current starters in 2027 and beyond.
"When you're talking about first-year players, typically that's the expectation, finding a way to contribute and offer a positive impact," Gladstone said. "It can be a little bit more challenging on the early end of a season as a rookie or even towards mid-season to really feel that come to life. In the instances that it does, that's great. That's usually above the expectation, especially when you're talking about pick 50 and beyond, which is where we find ourselves at this point."
As Gladstone showed last year with the Hunter trade, he isn't hesitant to make a bold move, which does leave open the possibility the Jaguars putting together a deal that could get them back into the late part of the first round. Per Jimmy Johnson's famed trade value chart, it could be done in a package that would include two of their third-round picks. It could be even more costly depending on how high into the first round they want to move.
Considering Gladstone's above quote about finding contributors, a trade back into the first round -- unless it's very late -- seems unlikely.
The Jaguars do have multiple areas that need more help, mainly interior defensive line and edge rusher. Finding an off-ball linebacker to help replace Devin Lloyd, who signed with Carolina in free agency, is a priority, too. Adding a tight end to pair with Brenton Strange, a safety, a running back, and offensive line depth are areas to watch, as well.
Potential targets, based on various ESPN analysts' mock drafts and rankings, include defensive tackles Gracen Halton (Oklahoma) and Tyler Onyedim (Texas A&M), linebackers Josiah Trotter (Missouri), Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) and CJ Allen (Georgia), and edge rusher/linebacker Jaishawn Barham (Michigan).
"Ultimately you have to make what you feel like is in the best interest of our team in the now and for the team for the future," Gladstone said. "But we're ready to go win some football games. Whoever can help us do that, we're going to try to add to the fold."