The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to make upgrades to Trevor Lawrence's arsenal of weapons in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, it looks like they're pleased with their current group with one key exception.
Head coach Liam Coen met with the local media ahead of the draft and said that the Jags are going to spread the ball, pointing out that they have a well-rounded group of skill-position players behind Brian Thomas Jr.
"I think we're going to spread the ball out, hopefully equally. That was the nice thing about being last year with Tampa, and we had to play a lot of different players in different personnel groupings," Coen responded when asked who'll be the No. 2 and 3 options behind Thomas. "I think you look just naturally right now at Parker Washington and Dyami Brown at the receiver positions, and then saying that, hey, Brent Strange hopefully continues to ascend."
Coen continued, "How do we use our two running backs to be able to supplement some of that usage, right? and be able to get more people involved in the game, especially early on, so that defenses can't just cloud BT and be all over him, that we do have other guys that can go win and be explosive with the ball in their hands, and ultimately share that wealth and share that play making ability, so that once the ball is snapped for the beginning, within the first quarter, if you haven't touched the ball, it's a hard one to get, continue to get through."
"So how do we get all of our playmakers a touch early on to get them going and get them involved in the game? And those guys that I just mentioned right now are guys that we're going to spotlight."
In case you missed it, Coen brought up several returning players from 2024 and free-agency acquisition Dyami Brown. However, he omitted Gabe Davis, who signed a three-year deal worth $39 million with the Jags last offseason.
Expected to provide a big-play element to the offense, Davis was instead underwhelming, posting career lows for catches and receiving yards in a season. Couple that with the fact that the former UCF Knight suffered a knee injury that cut his season short, and it's fair to say that he left much to be desired.
With Brian Thomas Jr., Dyami Brown, Parker Washington, and whatever receiver Jacksonville adds in the draft, Davis could be the odd man out.
The Jaguars may be ready to cut ties with Gabe Davis
Gabe Davis' lack of production wouldn't be an issue if he hadn't signed a big contract last year. In fact, it's possible that the Jacksonville Jaguars might've cut ties with him in free agency if it didn't create cap constraints. Outright releasing him would've accelerated a cap hit of $20.3 million and wouldn't have freed up any cap space. That said, the front office will have a bit more flexibility after the draft.
If the Jags designate Davis as a post-June 1 cut, they could split the cap hit in two. They could even place him in the trade block, especially if they find a potential replacement in the draft. His 2025 salary of $1.5 million might be attractive for teams in need of help at wide receiver. But even if the Jaguars don't find a trade partner, they could just cut their losses and move on from the veteran wideout if they don't think he's part of their long-term plans.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars could be feeling buyer's remorse about Gabe Davis and may be ready to move on from him. Time will tell, but Liam Coen's comments don't inspire confidence.