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Jacksonville Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone, left and Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli, center, all talk with Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 18th and final training camp practice at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. Wednesday August 20, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars Bold Trade Has to Pay Off Now

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Nov 13, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone has had his name dragged through the mud recently. In his first year at the helm, his new iteration of the team has managed to surpass its win total from last season in just eight games. And yet, there's been a lot of pushback against his moves lately.

Or rather, most of the criticism has been centered around one specific decision he's made as GM: trading a haul including two first-round picks to trade up to No. 2, and take two-way star Travis Hunter Jr. The former Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and cornerback started his rookie season slowly, struggling to carve out a consistent niche for himself while learning both sides of the ball at the NFL level.

Just as he was starting to come along on both offense and defense, and right when the Jaguars seemed to need him the most, Hunter Jr. went down with a non-contact knee injury in practice. There was hope that he could return at some point this season, but after the loss to the Houston Texans in Week 10, Jacksonville also had to absorb the fact that they'd be without their first-round pick for the remainder of the year, as he underwent surgery to repair his LCL.

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Jakobi Meyers has to step up

On a brighter note, the Jacksonville Jaguars were better prepared for this loss than they would have been, thanks to a shrewd move from James Gladstone ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline. Before the buzzer sounded, he completed a deal to acquire wide receiver Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a fourth- and a sixth-round pick.

Meyers' debut for Jacksonville was spoiled by his new team's meltdown against the Houston Texans. Despite the overall struggles of the offense in Week 10, the Jaguars' newest weapon was able to showcase some of the tools that convinced Gladstone and the team to trade for him.

Meyers caught all three of his targets for 41 yards. He had a few of his grabs erased due to penalty, including one in the end zone, on what would have been his first reception for Jacksonville. Still, quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been encouraged by what he's seen from Meyers:

"It was great. I was impressed [with] just how he handled himself the whole week, preparing himself to go play, and was asked to do more than I think a lot of guys would've been able to handle on such short notice. I think he got here basically Wednesday and was ready to play on Sunday, and our system isn't the easiest to learn, and he did a great job and was able to play a lot of snaps for us. So, he did an awesome job. Excited just to build on that this week.

I think he brings some great things to the table as far as, obviously, his hands, his route running ability, he’s really physical. He can block, can run the whole route tree, good with the ball in his hands after. I mean, he's a really good player and I'm excited just to continue to grow with him.”

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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