GENERAL MANAGER JAMES GLADSTONE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2026
(On if the team considered trading up into the first round) “Yeah, we got some calls earlier
today just to gauge what paths could exist should they present themselves. Nothing came
to fruition, obviously. Nothing sort of transpired in real time that would’ve been worth even
flagging.”
(On if he expected teams to move down later in the round) “Yeah, it felt like there could be a
little bit more action towards the front half of the first than what we ultimately ended up
seeing. Really anticipated a heavy OL run there in the teens and throughout the early
portion of the twenties. And then would’ve anticipated that there was going to be quite a bit
of movement there towards the back half of the first, but nothing that was going to be a
substantial jump back as much as it was. Those small incremental moves into the early
portion of the second.”
(On how the draft board ‘stacks up’ after the first round) “Yeah, I think it reflects what we
were projecting and at this stage, we’re able to take the night, circle back tomorrow and
continue our thoughts around what comes here once we get up onto the clock at [pick] 56.”
(On the draft process throughout the first round without a pick) “Yeah, I think you’re
analyzing a few different things while at the same time enjoying how things unfold. I don’t
know that there’s a ton of action that you can point to in particular with tonight. Like I said
before, a few different calls that unfolded throughout the course of the day, but really just
setting any sort of conversations that could come if the opportunity made sense for both
parties and tonight that wasn’t the case.”
(On if it will be a busy day of phone calls tomorrow) “Yeah, I think most of those things are
primed ahead of time and you can do a lot of it while teams are on the clock or just ahead
of that time.”
(On if anything surprised him about the first round) “I think everybody was worthy of the
slots that they ended up going in and congrats to all those guys and looking forward to what
tomorrow brings.”
(On if there is still a lot of talent at defensive end after the first round) “Yeah, I sure think so.
I think really all the position groups that we felt like had the strength showed itself in the
first round and there’s still some spots where we feel like the depth is healthy and others
where it has been depleted. And I think that’s not unlike any other draft, but certainly look
forward to navigating those waters.”
(On the balance of wanting to be aggressive but disciplined) “Yeah, I know we’ll be
strategically bold is the important asterisk to that. And as it relates to how we’ve operated
over the course of this offseason, there’s been a ton of intent and a ton of discipline tied to
it. I think the idea of a volume play is an important thing for us to acknowledge knowing that
while you date back to my time in Los Angeles, there were quite a few drafts we were
picking with as many as 11, 12, 13, 14 picks. And that gives you a lot more chances to hit, a
lot more chances to miss. But we’ll take the chances at this stage knowing that we feel
good about our process. We feel good about the collective efforts that have brought forth
the guys that we feel really good about entering into our environment and knowing that
they’re rooted in the stuff that’s only going point to them thriving in it.”
(On if anyone has taken a new approach to the later rounds of the draft due to NIL) “That’s
interesting. I don’t know that it’s rooted in financial thoughts as much as it is, you talk about
age quite a bit and whether or not tread on the tires is something of note. So, I think things
like that tend to be a bit more of those topics that surface to the top. I think most of the
times the guys have a little bit more financial awareness and that can be a really helpful
tool. The fact that they’re not just being dumped a good chunk of cash for the first time
when they enter the NFL. They now have some version of experience navigating that and so
that can be a really helpful piece for sure.”
(On what he likes about DL Ruke Orhorhoro) “Yeah, I think the idea that he can offer a
skillset that only enhances our capacity to pressure the QB jumps out in a real way. In the
same breath, I know he offers a lot of flexibility and versatility that we can move him inside
and out, depending on if it’s base and sub. I’m excited about the idea of getting some fresh
legs and really knowing that from his vantage point, he’s in a spot where he’s looking
forward to restarting, rebuilding. When he first stopped by over the weekend, it was kind of
cool. We were poking our heads out at the new stadium and the build. He’s like, ‘You know
what? This is actually a good reflection where I’m at in my career and look forward to
building the same way that that stadium is across the across the parking lot.’ So, it was a
cool little moment for him to kind of share his perspective there. And at the same time,
knowing that that’s a lot of the reason why we prioritized him and why we wanted to bring
him in.”
(On how much of a priority it is to add picks for the 2027 draft because of its strength) “I
think that that is a fair assessment based off of the early showings. At the same time over
the course of the next year, there’s going be a lot of holes that get poked into those folks
that I think aren’t yet to show themselves because it’s all surface level. So, only time will tell
whether or not that is in fact true. At the same time, we’re going to entertain the right value
and the right thing for the organization. When we have the chance to explore all options,
we’re certainly going do so.”
(On how valuable four day-two picks will be with an already balanced roster) “I think there’s
a good chance to really level up. I think one of the big things that I look back to last year is
the depth of the roster as a whole being a really critical piece so that when we did
experience windows in which there were heavier injuries or attrition that there wasn’t some
version of a critical fall off at any one position. I think that that helped our cause and
certainly I think that with what we have lying in front of us, not only tomorrow, but on day
three of the draft and even following the seventh round and undrafted college free agency,
those are sort of the fringe edges that you can win in a lot of ways and make differences in
what is going to be a long season. So, I think that that’s something that we’re certainly
excited about focusing on.”
(On OL Anton Harrison and picking up his fifth-year option) “Yeah, that was a pretty straight
forward decision. He has really bought into everything that we’re trying to do and has
shown steady improvement over the course of our time together. I really look forward to
him building off of the momentum and really across that entire offensive line, those guys
were really finding a cohesive means of operating. I say that even when there were a lot of
moving parts throughout the course of the season. That’s not easy to do and so, knowing
that we’ve got nine of those guys back, I think that was a really important piece for us to
continue to show that this is something we care about keeping tied together and ensuring
that whatever momentum we were able to capture over the course of the last season, the
connective tissue that we were able to build there, because it’s such a key piece to that
performance as a whole. Across all five, whoever’s on the field we just want to maintain
that, and this was certainly a sign to point exactly as to why.”
