Don't worry, fellow armchair general managers, we've already done the math on how many draft picks the Jacksonville Jaguars have left! James Gladstone traded up a storm this week, but it looks like the dust has settled.
In actuality, we should probably be worried about the team's cap space, as the team's currently projected to be over $15 million in the hole in 2027. If things stay the same between the start of the new league year and the next NFL Draft, the Jags are projected to have seven picks to work with while reloading the middle and lower end of their roster.
That means Jacksonville will still have a chance to dip into one of the deepest pools of talent in quite some time. If that doesn't get you excited, then nothing will. The days of trying to win the first round are over in Duval County, and that's because the franchise is aiming for something bigger.
So what's left on the Jaguars' board next year?
As of now, the Jags have four picks of their own and three projected picks that are expected to be in the fifth and sixth rounds.
According to Tankathon, the choices they own free and clear are in the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh rounds. Of course, Jacksonville's actual position on the draft board will keep changing between now and the last game in February. So here's how things tentatively look in 2027:
- Round 3
- Round 4
- Round 5
- Round 7
The upcoming draft class will have a plethora of players to choose from in the middle rounds, and, ironically enough, Gladstone may have to embrace the idea of overdrafting someone at the end of the third and fourth rounds to make sure he can get them into the building.
What about those "projected" picks?
It will be interesting to see how the compensatory formula works out for the men in teal. Sports Illustrated's Karl Rasmussen explains that compensatory picks "exist to account for the net loss teams experienced when they lost free agents during the previous offseason."
They've been around since 1994 and give front offices a chance to game the system when they have multiple contracts coming up at once.
For those who haven't been paying attention, that's the exact situation Gladstone's up against. After Devin Lloyd, Greg Newsome, and Travis Etienne left in 2026 free agency, the Jags are projected to get:
- Round 5
- Round 6
- Round 6
James Gladstone may need to actually care about those picks after all
Post-trade deadline, Jacksonville is expected to lose Arik Armstead, Ezra Cleveland, DaVon Hamilton, Ventrell Miller, Parker Washington, and 15 other players to expiring contracts at the end of the 2026 season.
To make matters worse, 14 players' contracts turn to dust after the magical once-in-a-lifetime 2027 campaign in Orlando.
You can be as optimistic you want about the Jaguars' long-term future, but it's clear that the team has no other choice but to win now. That would explain why James Gladstone pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table and staked his entire legacy on his latest batch of moves.
I've been high on Liam Coen since he arrived in Duval and completely changed what it felt like to be a fan of the Jags in the modern era. I truly think he's the coach who can take the franchise to the promised land; but I also believe that this is the best chance he'll ever get as the Bold City's Ol' Ball Coach.
The picks Jacksonville has left will have to be enough since they should avoid manipulating the salary cap too much. Nobody wants to have a lackluster offseason headlined by a rookie picked at the end of the third round, but its a price Jags fans must be willing to pay if they're really ready to see their beloved team shock the world.
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