Since James Gladstone became the general manager, he's made it clear that he's not afraid to take bold swings and go against the norm. This makes him stand out but also makes him the subject of criticism, and understandably so. His approach defies conventional wisdom but has yet to show that it works.
Of course, other general managers have done things the traditional way and have still failed. This is why Gladstone deserves praise for doing things his way. But until his method proves to be successful, he'll continue to catch strays. In fact, Mike Sando of The Athletic revealed that NFL execs aren't enthused about his strategy in 2026.
Jaguars GM James Gladstone is catching heat for his bold draft strategy
Mike Sando shared what executives around the league believe about every AFC team's approach to the draft. For the Jaguars, he stated that several execs expressed doubt about their 2026 class, pointing out that they weren't enamored with how they scout prospects.
"I did not like what Jacksonville did at all," One NFL exec told Sando. "Their picks reflect numbers — workouts, pro days, that kind of stuff — more than the film. 'We are going to be smarter than everybody else.' It was a trait for them."
Other execs are turned off by Gladstone's demeanor, pointing out that it doesn't match his success.
"The GM's bravado is outsized for their accomplishments, and the world loves to punish that," a different executive confided in Sando. "But it's paradoxical that it's the analytics community, which has now rallied around the public consensus board as being right, that is one that wants to punish him."
In a way, some of the criticism is deserved. Last year, Gladstone moved up to select Travis Hunter second overall and gave up meaningful resources to pull it off. So far, Jacksonville hasn't seen a great return on the investment.
Sure, Hunter got hurt, but that doesn't matter in a results-driven field. It doesn't help that the rest of the Jaguars' 2025 didn't have a big impact. Couple that with the fact that Gladstone didn't follow the consensus board in 2026, and rival executives won't hesitate to question his approach.
Heck, not even the fact that the Jaguars went 13-4 in 2025 has helped take some heat off Gladstone.
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Why the Jaguars are confident that James Gladstone will work his magic
The production isn't there, but there are reasons to be optimistic about James Gladstone. Again, he hasn't had widespread success, but the signs are there. The Jaguars should see their rookie class be at 100 percent after significant time last year. Aside from Travis Hunter, they'll get back pass rusher Jalen McLeod, safety Caleb Ransaw, and Wyatt Milum, who did play a bit but dealt with a knee injury that forced him to sit out the early portion of 2025.
On the other hand, the Jags could afford to take Nate Boerkircher in Round 2 because they had a well-rounded roster. Sure, they could have drafted a defensive tackle at No. 56, but they might not have been thrilled about their options or the cost to move up for Kayden McDonald and Christian Miller. Heck, Jacksonville might've found better value in waiting to pick Albert Regis at No. 81.
The truth is that James Gladstone will continue to be under scrutiny until he shows that his thinking outside the box works. If it does, he could then be seen as a trendsetter. Until then, expect rival general managers to continue to blast his approach.
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