JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Michael from Orange Park, FL
I vehemently disagree, Zone. I see the Jaguars going wide receiver in a BIIIG way in the draft. What say you?
I say I'm not exactly sure where the disagreement lies, and I say you do seem a touch confused on whether I have a passionate thought on how – or even if – the Jaguars might address the wide receiver position in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. My main thought here is there's a decent chance they might select it somewhere in the first four rounds – i.e., with one of their five selections in those rounds. The Jaguars did well during the 2025 season reshaping the position in "real time" – essentially moving on midseason from Dyami Brown, trading for Jakobi Meyers, allowing Parker Washington to assume a key role and managing Brian Thomas Jr.'s early-season drop struggles. They also withstood a Week 9 season-ending injury to Travis Hunter. Meyers, Washington and Thomas against that backdrop emerged by season's end as a balanced, capable trio – and with Hunter's return to health, the Jaguars entering 2026 have four capable dangerous receivers. Still, they did not re-sign last season's fourth receiver – Tim Patrick – and the thought here is that position is important enough that the Jaguars could address it relatively early later this month. Whether that's addressing it in a biiiig way, I don't know. But I expect it will be addressed.
Ed from Jax by Lionel Playworld
How does the stadium's naming rights change for this year and next year? What will it be like in '28? Over the next three years, we have smaller capacity, a completely different venue and a new stadium. I imagine that impacts the value of the naming rights in each of those years.
The Jaguars will play home games in EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville in reduced capacity in 2026 and they will play home games in a renovated Camping World Stadium in Orlando in 2027. The naming rights deal for the Jacksonville stadium with EverBank was renegotiated in 2025 and runs through February 2028. As for the naming rights following the end of the deal … those will be renegotiated. And that will be an important negotiation from a financial perspective.
Richard from Jacksonville
Is it football season yet?
It's sort of always football season in the NFL.
Bill from Jacksonville Beach, FL
I see no mention of offensive linemen with the Jaguars in the draft. This seems weird to me. The line was good last year, not great. Why can't we try to be great for once?
This O-Zone has an odd confrontational and vehement feel, but what's a mid-April O-Zone without a touch of confrontation and a dash of vehemence? I expect the Jaguars will address offensive line with at least one of their projected 11 selections in the '26 draft – and I wouldn't be surprised if they address it somewhere in Rounds 2 through 4. The Jaguars consider offensive line the foundation piece of the organization – and they always will seek greatness there. As you note, it was good and improved through much of the 2025 season. It was not as good as the organization wants and it was not great. I expect the Jaguars will always allocate significant draft capital there as under this regime.
Kevin from Jacksonville
Why u gotta hate on JHA?
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee or Spidey Sense – tells me you're asking why I supposedly "hate on" Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen. This same reliable sense leads me to assume you're asking this because I said – and wrote – this week that I consider defensive end Travon Walker the best and most irreplaceable player on the Jaguars' defense. Your reaction is understandable because we now live in a world of Twitter takes and comments sections – whatever those are – in which praising one thing automatically means "hating" on all things that in that moment happened to go upraised. I do believe Walker, who signed a contract extension last Saturday, is the best player on the Jaguars' defense. He might be the best player on the team. This does not mean he's the most valuable player. Or necessarily the most important player. That would be quarterback Trevor Lawrence. And saying Walker may be the best defensive player doesn't mean "hating" on Hines-Allen, who is a high-end pass rusher and a very valuable defensive player for the Jaguars. If I'm the Jaguars' coaches and front office, I consider Hines-Allen critical. I don't want to go into any game without him. Or with him injured. And if Walker indeed is the best player on the defense, he is from this view a smidge – a fraction – ahead of Hines-Allen. Remember, Kevin: To praise one entity is not to hate another. Or to think all else sucks. Not off-line anyway.
Isaac from Jacksonville Beach, FL
Uh-oh. Zone. Boy wonder says we're not getting a starter in the draft. A little bit of a misspeak there, one would hope.
My Scooby – and not those other senses – is having a busy day, and this time it says you watched the YouTube feed of the Jaguars' pre-draft media luncheon and decided Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone has gone and done some "misspeakin.''' My thought is maybe Ike has gone and done some "misinterpretin' in this case. Gladstone indeed spoke about the draft and discussed the fact that the Jaguars' earliest selection is No. 56 overall – and that they have four selections in the Top 100. He said that where the Jaguars are selecting "are more contributing slots. When you're talking about first-year players, typically that's the expectation, finding a way to contribute and offer a positive impact. It can be a little bit more challenging on the early end of a season as a rookie or even towards mid-season to really feel that come to life. In the instances that it does, that's great. That's usually above the expectation, especially when you're talking about pick 50 and beyond, which is where we find ourselves at this point." This doesn't mean the players selected by the Jaguars later this month won't ever start or that they won't matter as rookies. It does point out the NFL truth that many fans, observers and analysts somehow overlook – that NFL rookies are not finished products and that you don't typically expect a draft class to have a season-defining impact in the first season. This is not "uh-oh" or misspeakin'. It's just saying how it is.
Brendan from Yulee, FL
So just to confirm for the back of the classroom … New office building, same office?
There's some truth in this.
Josh from Atlanta, GA
Somehow lost in the recent Orlando news is the truth behind why Artemis II is actually missioning to space. The legendary Eugene "Spaceman" Frenette is being escorted to find the best location for the next phase of NFL expansion. The Jaguars playing the first home game on the moon. Cool stuff.
Sometimes we try too hard to work former longtime – now retired – Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette into the conversation. It's probably best to leave it at that.
Yetidaddy from Nowhere and Yet Somewhere
Have there been many left footed kickers … not just kickers with left feet, but kickers that kick with their left foot? What about punters?
Left-footed NFL kickers are rare, with former Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski perhaps the most notable. Long-time Carolina Panthers kicker John Kasay also was left-footed, as was longtime Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers. Ben Sauls of the New York Giants is currently the only left-footed kicker in the league – and his 2025 debut marked the first left-footed NFL kicker since Janikowski retired following the 2018 season. One issue involving left-footed kicker is holders must operate in the opposite direction as they do with the more common right-footed kickers – though perhaps the biggest reason there are fewer left-footed kickers is only about eight-to-10 percent of the population is left-footed. It's trickier finding historical information on left-footed punters – though current Washington Commanders punter Tress Way, Cleveland Browns punter Corey Bojorquez, New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan and San Francisco 49ers punter Corliss Waitman are left-footed. Former New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick was particularly known for liking left-footed punters. This was theoretically because flight and reversed spin of the ball off the foot made it tougher for the returner to field the punt – and therefore increased the chances of a fumble. Belichick characteristically was vague when publicly discussing his reasoning, calling it a "coincidence."
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King Of All Funk. I note Stephen from The Jaguar Den stated the Black Knight always triumphs, but I am not sure how he would procure a shrubbery (one that looks nice and not too expensive). Unless he is hoping Roger The Shrubber just happens to go past him in the forest.