The Jacksonville Jaguars will enter the 2025 NFL draft with what every team wants: flexibility.
Like every team, the Jaguars will enter the draft with positional needs that are more urgent than others. However, one aspect that has the Jaguars more uniquely positioned than many other teams is the quantity of draft picks they have at their disposal.
The Jaguars currently hold 10 draft picks this year, which is the second-most behind only Baltimore and San Francsico, who each have 11. And with that many selections comes that coveted flexibility. They'll also enter the draft with the fifth-most total draft capital value.
Flexibility, in terms of the NFL draft, means being able to let the board come to you. Is defensive tackle the biggest need the Jaguars have right now? Sure. But with 10 picks, if the Jaguars went in a different direction at pick No. 5, let's say taking an offensive lineman, they still have three more picks in the top 100 to spend on the defensive line.
Defensive line may be the more pressing need, but in comparison to the offensive line, this year's draft class is far deeper on the defensive side of the ball. So wouldn't it make sense to spend the early pick on the offensive line, knowing there is less talent at that position on Day 2 and beyond?
Having 10 picks allows the Jaguars to let their board--which they've spent countless hours crafting--do some of the heavy lifting for them when it comes to decision-making, rather than feeling this overwhelming urge to say I have to draft this position now.
There is also the flexibility to move around the draft board as GM James Gladstone sees fit. This includes trading down or even moving up at some point and putting that additional draft capital to work in a different way.
The position that teams do not want to be in during the draft is feeling like they have to address a certain position at a specific point in the draft. Obviously, teams don't know how the draft will unfold, so being beholden to drafting a certain position can lead to teams reaching and making rash decisions that go against what their big board says. This scenario is often when teams can get hurt in the draft.
As Gladstone described, the Jaguars wanted to utilize free agency to help raise the floor of the roster, which he believes they were able to do. Now the draft will be about finding those high-impact players.
"We'll be a build through the draft-oriented team," said Gladstone earlier this offseason. "We'll still supplement through free agency and both will be a part of what brings this roster to life. But with the idea that we have 20 draft selections at our disposal over the next two years, I think fans can expect that's where we'll put a large piece of our energy and expect to see a lot of our success in the future come from."
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Jaguars 10 picks gives them ample flexibility
