The Jacksonville Jaguars spent significant draft capital upgrading their defense ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. General manager James Gladstone shipped 2027 first- and second-rounders, a 2028 fifth- and sixth-round pick (conditional), and a 2029 second-round pick for safety Jessie Bates, nose tackle Jordan Davis, and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.
Outside Duval, the perception is that Gladstone pushed all his chips into the center of the table, going all in on the Jags having a legit shot at a Super Bowl. On Tuesday, the GM rejected that notion.
"Yeah, I think the idea that this is an all-in move isn't necessarily how I characterize it," he said via the official team transcript. "I characterize it as getting better as a football team and prioritizing getting better as a football team. I look forward to seeing it all come to life and being a part of bringing it to life here this week and beyond. But really, that's the intent behind any decision that we make is what's in the best interest of this team in particular and the organization as a whole moving forward."
There is no sugarcoating that the Jags paid a hefty price for a safety and two interior defenders. However, those were Jacksonville's biggest weaknesses after injuries hit the defense. Credit Gladstone for being fearless in giving his team a chance to chase a ring. Sitting on his hands wouldn't have done much good in 2026.
Having spent time on Les Snead's staff in Los Angeles, Gladstone has a unique view of the proverbial "eff them picks" mantra that the Rams have embraced. For the Jags' GM, it's more of a cute phrase than how L.A. actually operates.
"I know the idea of 'eff them picks' has kind of taken a hold and it's a headline; it's really not the approach or the process," he said. "As you think back to my experience in Los Angeles, over the time that I was there from the 2017 draft to the 2024 draft, we were able to have the third-most selections in the NFL across all 32 teams. But there was a narrative around 'eff them picks' tied to us. It's in the volume of picks that's important, and it ties back to how we operated in free agency this past spring. Not signing external free agents is an important piece when you have internal free agents signing elsewhere that can earn you a compensatory pick, thus supplementing the loss of any other draft selection that you may choose to use outside the three days that exist in April to make a selection. It's a very symbiotic process that encompasses a lot of layers to it, but it's certainly not 'eff them picks.' While that's been characterized as the approach, it's not necessarily—we actually value picks. We don't always use them on the three days that exist in April."
Isn't that a breath of fresh air?
Yes, draft picks are extremely valuable, particularly with rookie contract ceilings. However, using those picks not just on one weekend in the spring is a strategy GMs with guts can exploit in a league that far too often hoards those selections in the Fall, then trades them willy-nilly come the spring. The balance of when exactly to buy and when to hoard is a difficult skill to master -- and one far too many GMs don't even attempt to grasp.
Gladstone certainly took a couple gambles. If the Davis trade blows up, he'll have egg on his face. However, it's undeniable that the Jags are better today than they were on Sunday. If the Jags have a parade in Duval in February, no one will be cryaing about how those draft picks were spent.
