JAMES GLADSTONE: -- the idea of adding people who are intangibly rich, and Travis, in fact, as a player is rare. As a player, he's also rare. Beyond that, when we say that the idea of inviting people into our ecosystem who by being nothing more than who they are elevate the space, is the epitome of what Travis is.
We're not going to ask him to be any more than him because by doing so, he elevates not only this football team, not only this city, but the sport itself, right? Along the way you can count however many drafts you want to, there are players who have the capacity to alter a game. There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team. There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself. Travis, while he has a lot to still earn in our eyes, has the potential to do just that.
It's an exciting step for us to take, and obviously a lot of work to be done because while Travis's dream is now reality, he is still dreaming in a different way than most do. He prepares in a different way than most do, but now it's time to bring it to life.
Q. If you could just add on to that, what stands out to you from a coach's perspective about Travis?
LIAM COEN: First and foremost, the competitor. The ability to play on obviously both sides of the football. Just the player in general. The snaps that he takes, the preparation, the accountability, the way that he's in the building at 5:00 a.m. training his body. He's a 4.0 student and goes out on the field and impacts the game. On both sides of the ball he impacts the game.
He has a great feel for the game itself. When he's on the offensive side of the ball, finding zones in the defense. He's got really good ball skills. He can do something with it after the catch. Then on the defensive side of the ball he finds it, and that's ultimately what we're trying to do here is continuing to find people that can help us get our hands on the ball on the defensive side and go impact the game in that way.
Q. He told us that he hadn't spoken with anybody from the Jaguars since the combine. Can you two recount your one-on-one or personal interactions with him throughout this process?
JAMES GLADSTONE: Yeah, that's an interesting one because we hadn't touched base with him. We had touched base with his agents, his reps just to get a pulse for what was going to unfold over the course of the first four picks with the idea that we were sitting at 5, but nonetheless, it's very easy to feel that Travis has gravity. When he walks into a room, the light turns on, regardless of if the electricity is actually, in fact, switched up.
That was a moment that definitely resonated with us and his engagement with our coaching staff, the questions that he was asking. As we were walking through some of his film and some of the install specific to the plays that we run, it was really telling of the mind that he has, the curiosity, the interest and growth.
There's certainly a vivid visual for why he is where he is based off of that 15-minute interaction, but obviously, like I've articulated in the past, the weight of a singular touchpoint like that doesn't hold much in our eyes as opposed to some of the sourced intel over the course of a player's life, whether it's at Colorado for him, at Jackson State, or back to high school and earlier.
Certainly feel good about that interaction. Feel good about the process. Not sort of tipping the hand as related to what we were going to do here tonight, but that's probably where we're at.
Q. When you were coming up with your draft plan, was it, We're going to go get Travis Hunter, or was it more like, Hey, let's call the Browns and see if we can work something out?
JAMES GLADSTONE: That's a great question because I think it could go either way. Really the way in which it settled for us, we had our initial dialogue without that in mind and just wanted to discuss the players in silos, get the take on how we would utilize each and really our vision for their utilization.
Over the course of time as we began sleeping with our thoughts, right, the idea of this combination of players or this player in and of himself is now going to be a Jaguar once we make this selection, it got us to a point where Travis Hunter was most settling. We engaged in those conversations with the idea that, Hey, this is more than likely going to be a stretch. It's probably not going to be something that we'll be able to bring to life. Let's just go in with that expectation, so we're not ultimately disappointed. When things began to sort of grow and accelerate over the course of those conversations, obviously you become more firm in your stance and your pursuit. So certainly happy with the way that it unfolded here tonight.
Q. Did you get the framework of the deal done, essentially agreeing officially today, yesterday, last night? When was that?
JAMES GLADSTONE: I don't know when it was exactly. It wasn't today or yesterday, so it was before that. You know, we had agreed on the framework, and then it was just sitting with it all the way up until they were on the clock.
Q. How do you look at the draft capital? Was there ever any pause about moving the future pick?
JAMES GLADSTONE: You know what, I probably got some familiarity with the "them picks" sort of process. For our fans, I'll tell you, don't be scared. This is something I'm uniquely positioned to navigate.
We ended up bringing Travis Hunter to Jacksonville, and with that, he is somebody who is deserving of a first round draft pick as a wide receiver, and he is worthy of a first round draft pick as a corner.
Certainly look forward to each of those elements showing themselves over the next few years while he is under his rookie contract, but yeah, we're excited about just getting him in the boat so to speak.
Q. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Why was it so important to come away with a big splash and really start your tenure like this?
JAMES GLADSTONE: Yeah, I think this was certainly a statement for how we plan to move, how we plan to operate. I think we did a lot of talking up to this point and wanted to make sure that we showed through action exactly what those words mean.
I think that this is certainly a reflection of a lot of the catchphrases, or so to speak catchphrases, that may have been presumed as much, but this is a real visual representation of what all that means.
Q. Liam, adding obviously Travis or adding Brian, adding in free agency, is this the fire power you envisioned putting around Trevor when you first got Trevor?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, a little bit. You are always trying to add competition and playmakers. There's so many schemes that you can devise and execute, and ultimately when you have players that can win on their own and do something with the ball on their own, I can't really coach that. Coordinators can't really coach for that.
Ultimately, you're looking for players, can they win on their own, and can they impact our offense in that way? Yes, he does. That is what we were looking to do in so many ways. Try to address the ability to block up front in the pro free agency and get some more help there and competition at positions on the O-line and try to go get this guy here.
Q. Liam, have you heard from any of your players, perhaps any fun anecdotes you can share?
LIAM COEN: Arik Armstead FaceTimed us right after. You could not hear. He could not hear us. It was crazy there, but he was, like, Hey, man, this is -- he was great. He said, Way to make a first impression.
Josh Hines-Allen texted me excited. Trevor as well. So that's been fun.
JAMES GLADSTONE: You want to talk about being agile. I think Arik was originally slotted to do the second round pick, and he hit me up at breakfast the other morning and was, like, Looking forward to the opportunity heading up this evening, should be a blast. I'm thinking in the back of my mind, Should I give him the heads-up?
No, but they pivoted, and they remained agile there in realtime in Green Bay. The atmosphere there certainly looked great.
Q. James, you mentioned being bold and not flinching, but I want to ask, where does that confidence come from, because as multiple people have alluded to, this is your first draft. It's going to be tied to your tenure here. Where do you get that confidence from?
JAMES GLADSTONE: You know what, I think preparation helps with that. I think at the same time just over the course of your life, you probably experience moments in which you didn't do something out of fear, and you also experience the moments that you sort of take the leap and begin to level and balance the sensations that come with each. I know every step that I didn't take that related to fear I regretted, so that's not something I intend on doing the rest of my life.
So I think it's also something that I would, if ever giving advice to anybody, which I don't say I should do all that often because each of us should sort of build off of our own experiences or observing those of others, but not being scared is something that goes a long way. Courage goes a long way.
I can tell you, with that, right, and with inexperience, that's where fear starts to set in, and the fear of the unknown is something that if you can work past, there's no telling what you can get to. I think certainly wanted to reflect that not only in tonight's actions, but in every action that we take in our normal modes of operation.
We still have nine picks on the horizon, and as much as we're excited about what took place here today, we're excited about getting back to work and bringing those players into this ecosystem to continue to level it up by being, again, nothing more than who they are.
Q. I also wanted to ask about the football that you brought in. I've seen the pictures of you holding it. Is there a story there?
JAMES GLADSTONE: You know what, it probably makes sense because Liam probably feels very similar, right? When you grow up in a football family or in a world of sport, life feels a little better when a ball is in your hand. So I guess you can just say it's some version of a fidget spinner, right?
So Liam and I, like the power of touch, it's our version of touch with each other. We can toss a ball back and forth, brainstorming. So it's become a version of a bridge.
I don't even know what the game is called, but when you are in elementary school and you are in a circle and you pass I don't know whatever the ball. Hot potato. Then you say something, and it's your turn. You introduce yourself and say something interesting. It's a cool little mechanism that brings us together in a way as well.
Yeah, no real deep meaning behind it other than it's just a toy.
Q. Can you spin it?
LIAM COEN: He can catch it. He can spin it too, though. He's hit the goal post more than I have.
JAMES GLADSTONE: It usually takes quite a few times.
Q. Liam, how does Travis's extraordinary offensive talent pair with what Brian Thomas can do on the other side for you guys with the potency of those two guys?
LIAM COEN: I think just adds another layer for the defense, for them to have to defend against or not maybe be able to double-team one side of the field or lean a safety which way. Man, B.T. working with him over the last few days was really impressive, really impressive. Yeah, freak. That was exciting.
And to be able to have this opportunity now to continue to add to that room because that room this week I thought did a great job, all the guys. Dyami, Parker. All those guys that were out there competing did a great job and this just only adds to the competitiveness in that room as well as to the team because it's going to be multiple positions here.
Yeah, that was pretty cool.
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