Once the NFL draft is over, teams rush to sign whatever players they were setting their sights on that didn't get their name called. The Jacksonville Jaguars went after Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan. And if he turns out to be any good, they'll need to thank former head coach Jon Gruden for tipping them off.
Head coach Liam Coen met with the local media on Day 2 of rookie minicamp and confided that the Jags signed Henigan because Gruden told them about him, pointing out that he hadn't watched much tape of him.
"We'll get there, right? I mean, still getting to know him. Just met him. Hadn't... I'll be honest, I didn't watch a ton of his tape before we ended up bringing him in. And then, once we did, I got to talk to him. John Gruden actually hit me up about him. Shot me a text. I think they spent some time together during the offseason," Coen said. "And so you can definitely see, though, the coach's kid mentality."
Coen continued, "He did a great job of calling the plays, having command. I mean, we weren't just out there calling one play. I mean, we were calling plays to play calls. He was handling all that stuff well. So time will tell. But you know, definitely a good guy to start off with."
A four-year starter at Memphis, Henigan completed 64.0 percent of his throws for 14,266 yards with 104 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. He doesn't have great arm strength, but he's got a quick delivery and good accuracy.
Gruden began his pre-draft series and rebranded it as QB Class in recent years. He's been the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in two different stints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Below is the episode of the QB class featuring Henigan.
Seth Hennigan could turn out to be a solid pickup for the Jaguars
During the Doug Pederson era, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't prioritize developing quarterbacks. Aside from undrafted free agent E.J. Perry, didn't invest significant resources at the position. The new regime could buck the trend.
Although the Jags didn't use a single draft pick in 2025 to take a quarterback, Hennigan has been given a favorable chance to make the 53-man roster next season. It's hard to tell how many signal-callers the team will carry, but nobody should bat an eye if they only kept two, like head coach Liam Coen did during his stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. If that's the case, Hennigan would have to beat Nick Mullens for the No. 2 job behind Trevor Lawrence, and he probably won't.
Having said that, Henigan could spend his rookie season in the practice squad soaking up knowledge and getting acclimated to the NFL. With one year of experience under his belt, he could challenge Mullens for the top backup job next year.
The bottom line is that there's plenty to like about Henigan, and if he pans out, the Jaguars will have to thank Jon Gruden.
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