John Shipley
JACKSONVILLEForJaguars General Manager James Gladstone, the NFL Draft is about much more than just selecting football players.
It is about finding individuals who live and breathe the qualities the Jaguars value as pieces of the organization. It is about finding which players have "Jaguars DNA," and why nobody brought into theMiller Electric Centercan afford to lack it.
One common trait to the Jaguars' most recent influx of players:Collegiate experience a lot of it.
Which is why experience is among several central themes to the Jaguars' 2026 NFL Draft class with a draft-long theme the mental and physical toughness critical to "Jaguars DNA."
Gladstone's experience in the Los Angeles Rams' front office for nearly a decade surely played into those themes, as they are the same ones that Rams General Manager Les Snead and Rams Head Coach Sean McVay follow each offseason.
On-field experience was a theme early in the Jaguars' 2026 NFL Draft, with Texas A&M tight endNate Boerkircherthe Jaguars' first '26 selection at No. 56 overall (Round 2) having appeared in 52 collegiate games. The Jaguars' next two Day 2 selections, Texas A&M defensive tackleAlbert Regis(No. 81) and Oregon guardEmmanuel Pregnon(No. 88), played in 50 and 51 career games, respectively.
This trend continued in the later rounds, with the Jaguars' 10-player class playing an average of 46.4 games over their college career. Only one selection (seventh-round defensive endZach Durfeeof Washington) played fewer than 40 games in his college career.
The trend can be traced to last year's draft class, the first for Gladstone,Head Coach Liam CoenandExecutive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Bosellisetting the tone for the organization. Guard Wyatt Milum a Round 3 selection by the Jaguars in '25 played in 47 games at West Virginia, with third-round safety Caleb Ransaw also playing 47 games in four collegiate seasons.
Gladstone during the '26 draft discussed the value of such "time on task" when calculating a prospect's chances to contribute early in his NFL career.
"If you track back to a lot of my tenure with Los Angeles, it wasn't all that different," Gladstone said. "Those players tend to walk in the door and have a different version of polish than the ones that you may have to get reps and get that 10,000-hour rule associated to their play.
That mindset runs through another Jaguars '26 draft theme with Boerkircher, Durfee, sixth-round receiverJosh Cameronof Baylor and seventh-round linebackerParker Hughesof Middle Tennessee State all having started their collegiate careers as walk-ons.
"You've got to love it," Gladstone said. "That is a part to me that says a lot. If you can start there and end in the conversation of being a potential draft pick, it says a lot about what you can overcome, being able to
The Jaguars have been exceedingly purposeful with who they add to their locker room and how they do it. Judging from last month's draft, the Jaguars DNA is as important as anything else.
