James Gladstone's two weeks before the draft are more impressive than anything Trent Baalke ever did with the Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are already showing signs of being in a better place as a franchise with this new regime than they were prior. Let's start first with the draft class that the Jaguars have brought in. Sure, the former regime brought in Brian Thomas Jr., and a few other players that will be big-time […]
The Jacksonville Jaguars are already showing signs of being in a better place as a franchise with this new regime than they were prior.
Let's start first with the draft class that the Jaguars have brought in. Sure, the former regime brought in Brian Thomas Jr., and a few other players that will be big-time contributors, but overall, they missed far too many times on important picks, and seemed to always fail to make sure Trevor Lawrence was set up to succeed, especially when it came to the offensive line.
New general manager James Gladstone and new head coach Liam Coen clearly have a vision, and they are clearly implementing it. And, they very clearly have a culture in place, and you're not seeing any breaches in that culture. You hate to throw names out there, but Trent Baalke, the former general manager, couldn't do what Gladstone just did two weeks before the 2025 NFL Draft.
In fact, what he did two weeks prior is more impressive than anything Baalke did.
“I don’t know if I had any real expectation for what that was going to look like when we started to engage," Gladstone said during Hunter's introductory presser. "It’s been something that [Browns General Manager] Andrew Berry and I have been working through for the better part of two weeks. Got to give him a shoutout because he made it a seamless process.
"Certainly kept open lines of communication for that duration and as I think back to where we initially started with it and where we ended, it certainly included some back and forth, but along the way, there was a pretty good pulse for what the end was going to look like and really what executing that once they were on the clock would sort of shape out to be. The fact that it came to life as seamlessly as it did once the bell rang is something that was fulfilling."
The fact that the trade to acquire, essentially Travis Hunter, was being worked out two weeks in advance with the Cleveland Browns, and there was never a report, a rumor, or leak about it, says that Gladstone has his staff, his regime, as tight-lipped as it gets. And, you don't ever see that from a group that was created just a few months ago. No one saw the trade coming, even if you think you did, how likely did you think it actually was?
And, you can't help but feel like the Baalke regime, every iteration of it, would have leaked that information. And if they didn't, they would have found a way to take the less obvious prospect.
These are obviously different times in Jacksonville. This regime feels like they could be the one to really turn it all around. Yes, we have said that before, but Gladstone and Company really feel like they have it down. They seem to have already nailed their first pick ever, too.
Grading the Browns, Jaguars Trade: Cleveland passes on Travis Hunter for a haul of draft picks from Jacksonville
It has to work out for Cleveland.
