It Is Clear What Blueprint the Jaguars Are Following

With free agency now in the rearview mirror and the 2025 NFL Draft just over a month away, it isn't hard to figure out what blueprint the Jacksonville Jaguars are following.

The days of the Jaguars trying to win each offseason with the highest-paid free agents seem gone. Yes, the Jaguars spent a considerable amount of cap space this offseason, but it was spread amongst nine players on relatively short-term deals instead of any monster deals for a handful of players.

Instead, the days of draft and develop seem to have been brought to Jacksonville in a swift change. After the hirings of head coach Liam Coen, general manager James Gladstone and executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli, the Jaguars are being guided by a different formula than in year's past.

It is clear whose formula they are attempting to replicate: the Los Angeles Rams, who perfected the craft of drafting and developing to overhaul their roster in recent seasons.

The Rams have had 24 picks in the last two years, and their trick is that the picks have not just been for show. They let their rookies compete for spots on the 53-man roster because they do not build the team with aging veterans on bad deals.

By clearing the middle and bottom pieces of their roster, the Rams have been able to put rookies in positions to produce early in their careers. It has led to all but four of the picks to play double-digit games with the team. Last year, only two of the Rams' 10 picks appeared in fewer than 15 games.

The rookies have produced, too, with Jared Verse and Puka Nacua having record-breaking rookie seasons. They have been followed by other key contributors such as Braden Fiske, Kamren Kinchens, Jordan Whittington, Beaux Limmer. Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Steve Avila, just to name a few.

"That’s my experience most recently with the Los Angeles Rams and that’s something I feel I have a unique capacity to take on with the current position that we hold, which is 10 picks this year, 11 picks next year," Gladstone said last week.

"So, with pro-free agency, we wanted to set ourselves up so that we feel like we have the flexibility to address any position we want to at any pick point that lies on the horizon and it feels like we’re currently in a position to do just that.”

The Rams have embraced a youth movement to churn their roster. It has never meant a true rebuild; instead, it has been an aggressive move to make the most efficient roster possible. And it is clear the Jaguars, led by two former Rams in Coen and Gladstone, want to follow the same path.

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