The Jacksonville Jaguars won’t send their top executives to the NFL Scouting Combine this year, marking a shift in their draft approach.
General manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen will skip the 2026 event in Indianapolis. Both attended last year during their first draft cycle together in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars plan to rely on their scouting department and medical staff to handle on-site responsibilities instead.
Every workout, drill and measurement gets recorded and distributed to all teams. Jacksonville’s front office can study prospects remotely since the measurable data is available without requiring top decision makers in the building.
The team’s taking an even more unconventional approach beyond skipping the Combine itself.
Jacksonville plans to bypass formal interviews at the Combine entirely. They also won’t host traditional Top 30 visits at team headquarters.
In a report for Jaguars Wire, Paul Bretl relayed comments from Michael DiRocco that Jacksonville doesn’t want a brief 15-minute meeting to significantly alter evaluations built over multiple seasons of scouting.
The strategy reflects the model long used by the Los Angeles Rams, where Gladstone previously worked under Les Snead and Coen coached alongside Sean McVay.
Jacksonville’s draft capital situation provides important context for this approach.
The Jaguars traded their 2026 first round pick to the Cleveland Browns in last year’s move up for Travis Hunter. Their first selection currently sits at No. 56 overall.
They hold three third round picks at Nos. 81, 88 and 100.
With added picks but no first round choice, Jacksonville appears comfortable trusting its internal evaluations. The approach also keeps their intentions private heading into draft season.
The team’s willingness to skip traditional draft preparation events suggests confidence in their scouting process and a belief that face-to-face meetings won’t change evaluations they’ve been building for months.
