GENERAL MANAGER JAMES GLADSTONE AND HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2026
Q. A little busier day, four picks as opposed to waiting through the day like yesterday.
How did it feel to get on the clock and get a pick in?
JAMES GLADSTONE: Yeah, it was an exciting evening. I know as we labeled the guys that
we really wanted to target throughout the course of it, we ended up with four guys who fit
the bill for exactly what we’re hunting up, and feel like we were able to level up in a few
different areas that going into 2026 we were really excited about addressing. As the trends
across the NFL begin to show themselves, not only over the last season but the back half of
the season and what we anticipate being big pieces to the puzzle over the course of this
next season, I think that was a real reflection of the decisions that we made here tonight
and the positions and players that we prioritized.
Q. Adding a tight end there at pick 56, can you talk about your decision and how it fits
in here?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, we definitely got tougher tonight. The type of player, the type of person
that we’re trying to hunt up here, attitude, toughness, mentally and physically tough. I think
has a lot more in his body than was probably displayed throughout the season when they
were throwing the ball a lot to those wide-outs and Concepcion and those guys, when
every opportunity he had throughout the off-season process, to go put it on tape, that he
could, and that there was that in his body and that he did have those capabilities, it showed
up in a major way.
JAMES GLADSTONE: You’re not going to share your dream?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, I did have a vision, at night, so I guess it’s a dream, that we were taking
him. I don’t remember where it was at or what pick or anything, I just remember that it was
somebody that we have had a lot of like for for a long time, and then you saw that run of
tight ends go, so kind of glad we did it.
Q. Liam, Albert had 10 passes deflected at the line, 49 tackles, pretty active, smart
player. Can you talk a little bit about him?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, that’s what we’re hunting up, D-Ham, Vegas — no, I’m kidding. That’s
just something that he can do. Like you mentioned, though, the football intelligence, the
football IQ, the feel, how to play single blocks, how to play double teams, how he runs to
the football, this guy chases things down, screens. We talk about heat for players for us
and the amount of buy-in in the building for these players, specifically Albert, a ton. A ton of
buy-in, and you hit it on the head, the type of football intelligence, IQ, matched with
somebody that’s going to play his tail off and compete, that’s exactly what we were hunting
up.
Q. Emmanuel had a ton of starts in college. How did that look on tape as he progressed
this year?
LIAM COEN: Yeah, obviously a first-team All-American, type of player that adds mass
inside. That’s something that we’ve been continuously evaluating is getting bigger, faster,
stronger and tougher. That’s something that he does for us. I’m very good friends with Will
Stein, who was his offensive coordinator. We talked a lot throughout the last week. Very
close with Dan Lanning (Oregon Head Coach), as well. You look at his — the physical
attributes, the stuff we can’t coach, and then a guy that wasn’t a mental error guy, wasn’t
somebody that couldn’t handle all of what Oregon was able to do in their system and
checking and killing plays, audibles, alerts, all of those kinds of things that you’re hunting
up, from a, okay, can he go and do that at this level, we believe so. I think that you look at in
the pass pro and in the run game, getting bigger, I like that.
Q. James, it seems like across the board these guys, a lot of starts, a lot of experience.
What is it that you like as a general manager? How does that help with the projection?
JAMES GLADSTONE: I think it helps a great deal. I think if you track back to a lot of my
tenure with Los Angeles, it wasn’t all that different than what you just articulated. Those
players tend to walk in the door and have a different version of polish than the ones that
you may have to get reps and get that 10,000-hour rule associated to their play. I think it
certainly allows — especially when the human beings themselves are the types that can
really pour in and do it in the right way and have the routine that would cultivate a faster
acclimation, you’re going to be able to see that turn around rather quickly. All these guys,
they can have the talent, but the differentiator is the mindset, and that’s a lot of what we
focused on with these decisions.
Q. James, did you anticipate Nate’s range being in the second round?
JAMES GLADSTONE: Yeah, that was rooted in our own internal sentiment and
understanding that the trend in the NFL was that heavier tight end sets was going to be
something that got prioritized, and we felt certainly a heavier tight end run throughout the
course of the back end of the second into the third, and typically that’s a window where the
wide receiver run is really occurring. I think that certainly showed itself. But he was the one
we were hunting up, and we weren’t going to allow that to ever be something that we risked.
Q. How did you evaluate, the edge, defensive tackle run that occurred in the second
round and how you were set up to potentially attack that position further at defensive
tackle and attack the edge on day three?
JAMES GLADSTONE: Yeah, I think there’s still plenty of guys to choose from, and ultimately
we went with the guys in the positions that we really had very clear and vivid visuals for,
each of the pick points that we had, and know that that will only continue to be the case,
regardless of what the position is.
Q. Nate had this clip against Travis Hunter where blocking —
JAMES GLADSTONE: Helmet popped off? Yeah.
Q. Did you run across that —
JAMES GLADSTONE: That was Nebraska.
Q. Did that stand out, that one play?
JAMES GLADSTONE: You know what? I can tell you I didn’t know who it was at the time that
I first watched it. As a part of pouring into this year’s cycle and him in particular, that did
catch my attention. That’s his demeanor. That is a great visual for how he operates, and I
think between him and Albert, their post play energy is electric, and it shows up in the same
way from snap to whistle. So it was certainly something that caught our attention and led to
why we ended up choosing him.
Q. James, on Huskey, it looked like he played some corner early and then safety. What
did you like about that versatility —
JAMES GLADSTONE: We talked a little bit about the bigger personnel groupings becoming
a trend. To combat that, you’re getting hybrid safety corners and bigger bodies at the
position that can help match that a little bit more effectively. Something that we prioritize
not only on the defensive back end but across the entire roster is versatility. So he certainly
offers that, but at the same time, his play style is one that is extremely aggressive and tough
and physical.
So that really captured our attention and our hearts, and at the same time he touches the
football. I think his Illinois game was one that really stood out in a hot way and was
certainly one that as we were watching highlights come across the screen post pick, Shad
was certainly taking notice of, wow, there’s quite a few highlights showing up against
Illinois; that’s an interesting deal.
Q. Liam, to follow up on Emmanuel, what does that allow you to do possibly with
Milum (OL Wyatt Milum)?
LIAM COEN: The nice thing is we always said since being in LA in ’22 in that tough year that
we’re never going to put ourselves in a position to not have depth up front and to not have
great competition, depth. For what it does for Wyatt, I’m not sure. Wyatt has got a ton of
flexibility for him to go out, particular out at tackle and play on the inside at guard. The nice
thing is we’ve got a lot of depth and competition coming up for — obviously this being a little
bit more of a learning phase throughout the spring, that you’re not going to probably be able
to see maybe what Wyatt’s best traits are with a helmet on and shorts or maybe same thing
with Emmanuel. We have to wait until training camp to let that stuff play itself out. But
shoot, I know in the last two years, getting two interior linemen with a little bit of flex that
are 320, 315 plus that have that ass and mass that we’re looking for, that’s helpful to the
cause.
JAMES GLADSTONE: I’m surprised if you were going to bring up any of our current OL you
didn’t bring up his former teammate in Jonah.
LIAM COEN: Yeah, they played together. They did.
JAMES GLADSTONE: We’ve got to kind a trend in Trojans coming in the building, you know.
Q. James, were you surprised that Emmanuel was there as late as he was?
JAMES GLADSTONE: Yeah, that was certainly a part of the equation. It wasn’t necessarily
something we would have projected in advance. Certainly happy to be in a position to
select him, knowing that we were anticipating him going a little bit earlier.
Q. James, do you anticipate Jalen being able to help you on special teams an awful lot,
given that versatility?
JAMES GLADSTONE: I would think so. And obviously with Dewey (S Andrew Wingard)
exiting, the PP (Personal Protector) role is one that we have to prioritize, and he certainly is
going to be able to challenge for that spot, which is an extremely important role on punt
and ensures that there doesn’t end up being a critical down or a critical error in a moment
that can flip games. So that’ll certainly be one that he’ll have the luxury of competing for.
Q. Did you guys try and move up today or were you pretty comfortable with where you
were at in the draft?
JAMES GLADSTONE: We did make a couple calls towards the early portion of the night, but
nothing that really came to fruition.
Q. Were you surprised when New England went in front of you at 55?
JAMES GLADSTONE: No. I didn’t actually — actually my mind did not go to New England
getting in front of us at 55.
Q. A lot of picks tomorrow. How do you spend the time before you get back on the
clock overnight? Do you refresh some of your draft board, look at guys again, or do you
rest knowing you’ve already done it?
JAMES GLADSTONE: We’ve got a pretty good idea what we’ll do the rest of the way, in
particular here with 124 and into the fifth and sixth round. I would say there are a few
discussion points still to be had knowing that we’ll have to be agile as some surprises or
not surprises show themselves. I don’t think there’s going to be a ton between now and
tomorrow when we kick things off that’ll shift, but we’ll just engage in the dialogue for sure
before we exit this evening and into the early portion of tomorrow morning.
Q. Liam, you guys kind of wanted to put a focus on the running game. Between Nate,
Emmanuel, Chris and free agency, do you feel like you’ve taken a big step toward that
so far?
LIAM COEN: I think we’ve improved. I think we’ve added players that are going to help that
cause. What that comes to from a statistics standpoint or what that looks like at the end of
the season is hard for me to tell, but I think that all three of those guys are helpful to that
cause, that bring a certain mindset and mentality, demeanor, play demeanor, play edge to
their game, and I think all those guys are going to help that cause for sure.
Q. Liam, how many quarterbacks do you look at in this draft cycle, and do you get any
ideas, like maybe it’s something they ran that –
LIAM COEN: Yeah, not many in depth by any means. Probably blanked a few of those guys
and was able to obviously see them in a lot of other films, other players’ films, but not
necessarily a huge deep dive into the top picks of this draft. I’ve watched Simpson
(Alabama QB Ty Simpson), I’ve watched a little bit of Mendoza (Indiana QB Fernando
Mendoza). I recruited Mendoza coming out when I was at Kentucky and he was at Cal, so I
had some familiarity with him. Liked Simpson, obviously Carson (University of Miami QB
Carson Beck) a little bit, as well — Probably not as much as a year that we would be looking
at taking a quarterback. But not much right now.
TIGHT END NATE BOERKIRCHER
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026
(On if he had an idea that the Jaguars were interested in him) “Man, I talked to the tight ends
coach a little bit. But yeah, I didn’t go on any visits or anything. I didn’t have a formal [visit]
with them, so I guess I didn’t know, but I couldn’t be happier.”
(On his reaction when he saw the number come up on his phone) “You know how it is with
the spam stuff coming up. I saw a random number. It said spam on there and I didn’t know
what to do. I showed my agent, and he said, ‘Better answer it.’ So, I answered it and my
heart sunk. Man, it’s crazy.”
(On how he feels about the fit with Jacksonville) “Yeah, I was just talking to coach and he
said he is really excited to get me in there in 12 personnel, for sure. I’m just excited to get in
there and learn and prove myself. I think I’ve got a long way to go. I’ve got a high ceiling and
I’m ready to go prove it.”
(On how he would sell himself to fans who are not familiar with his game) “Yeah, I think I’m
a physical blocker. I like to put my face in the fan. I get in there and get physical and play
through the whistle, and I think I have a lot of potential in the passing game. I’ve made big
plays in my career. I haven’t always had the most production, but when the ball comes my
way, I usually have been able to capitalize.”
(On what he liked about the Texas A&M offense and how it prepared him for the NFL) “Yeah,
I love that offense. That was a big reason why I went there. Very versatile offense, kind of
pro-style. We did a lot of things. We moved the tight ends around. We had a lot of weapons
K.C. [Texas A&M WR K.C. Concepcion], Mario [Texas A&M WR Mario Craver], all those guys.
And so, yeah, I wasn’t a main threat in the passing game but like I said, we had a very
versatile offense. I had a massive route tree for a tight end, so absolutely loved it. I think it
was a great offense, and I think I thrived in it.”
(On the pride he takes in his journey from walk-on to second-round pick) “It’s absolute
dream come true. It’s the best day of my life. It just brings me back to the six years of
college football and high school football and just working towards this dream in school and
it’s finally come.”
(On his expectations going into the draft regarding his placement) “Honestly, I had no idea. I
didn’t really want to know. My agent kind of kept me out of that because they know it’s a
slippery slope with that. The draft is kind of an animal house, a lot of stuff unexpected
happens. So honestly, the way I saw it, I just wanted to sit back, enjoy the ride and I’m
having a great time now.”
(On whom he watched the draft with and the reaction) “Yeah, I’m at my parents’ house with
my family, my fiancé, my fiancé’s family, and my agents. Kept it pretty low key. Very special
moment.”
(On the location) “Yeah, we’re in in Gretna, Nebraska where my parents live.”
(On his upside in the passing game) “Yeah, absolutely. I’ve gotten a lot better, especially my
last year at A&M at winning in man [coverage]. I think that’s something that I improved at a
lot and I have a long way to go. I think I can obviously keep improving in that area and I have
good hands and a big catch radius. I’m just a big body.”
(On walking on at Nebraska and the journey to the NFL) “Yeah, I grew up in a small town in
Nebraska, always was a Cornhusker fan. Man, that was a dream come true going to
Nebraska as a walk-on. My brother was there as a walk-on. Like I said, we grew up
Nebraska fans, so it was cool going there and they have such a rich walk-on program. And I
got there with my tight ends coach Sean Beckton, and he just helped me improve so much.
He built a foundation for me, and it really took me a long way.”
(On if he remembers facing WR/DB Travis Hunter in college) “Absolutely, yeah, I did. Yeah.
That’s awesome. He ended up ripping my helmet off. I’m excited to talk to him about that. I
just remember him being super cool about it though. I remember blocking him a few plays
later and we were bros again. So, I’m excited to meet him and figure all that out.”
DEFENSIVE TACKLE ALBERT REGIS
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026
(On his reaction to his daughter predicting him being drafted to Jacksonville with the ‘cup
game’) “So, believe it or not, it was my fiancé’s idea. She was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea.
Let’s let Akari put out some cups, let’s let her crawl to what she thinks.’ And I was like,
whatever. Not whatever in a bad way of like, I don’t care. But I was like sure, why not? And
then I go and play the game and her family’s in town, so they all did it. And I’m watching in
the background. And then every time they’re like, she went to Jacksonville, she went to
Jacksonville, she went to Jacksonville. And I was like, well, since the end of the season, I’ve
been saying Duval is where I want to be and she went three times. And then it was just like,
well, God, it is written in the books. God never lies. He never does wrong and I’m here and
it’s just amazing.
(On why he wanted to be in Jacksonville) “That’s just where I wanted to be. I just loved the
way the team played, the way the defense played, and I just knew it was a scheme that I
could fit in. And then when I finally did a Zoom with them and went over some plays and got
to understand their defense, I just knew that’s where I wanted to be. I knew I would thrive
best in this defense.”
(On his dancing and his appearance in “Newsies”) “Wow (laugh). So, I was a male dancer. I
learned how to tap dance from it. The male dancers had to tap dance in a little gimmick for
a bit. We were tap dancing with a broom. I wish I had the footage. Don’t know where it is.
But in this day and age, nothing is ever scrapped off the internet. So, it’s somewhere out
there and someone will find it. But yeah, it helped me incredibly with my flexibility. This
goes back to the tap dancing: nobody mentions how bad it hurts the next few days. My
ankles were so beat up, it felt someone ran them over with a semi-truck, I was in so much
pain. But my ankle mobility now is amazing because of it. So, no complaints.”
(On when he thought the Jaguars had interest in him) “Yeah, so I spoke with some of my
coaches and they would tell me how interested and then I’m not going to say names, keep
it confidential, just for their sakes. I know I’m here, but I like to keep some things private
still, and a scout, like I said, I’m not going to mention names. He constantly would tell me
how much they love me, and he’d always fight for me and believe it or not, he texted me
afterwards and he said, ‘I told you, I’ll fight for you.’ It just absolutely means the most that
he meant what he said from the get go and I’m just so happy to be here.”
(On how he fits into the Jaguars defense) “I view myself as a Swiss Army knife, honestly,
coming from multiple positions in high school to the defense we played in, very gap sound.
Whatever you ask of me, I’m always willing to get it done and just be the best that I can be
for the team.”
(On if he still could tap dance right now) “Honestly, I think I still do. Now, mind you, that was
my sophomore year of high school, so I think that was—I graduated 2021, so that was my
sophomore year. But I still remember some of the basic things we did on the first day to
introduce it. And every once in a while, I still go through the motions just to see if I could
still do it. So, I think if I was to put on some tap shoes, I think I could still do it. Might be
rusty, but I think I still got it.”
(On how much the ‘light feet’ due to tap dancing helps in the trenches) “Yeah, it’s helped a
lot. My junior year in high school was my breakout year when I really started getting
recruited and offered, and tap dancing helped with my ankle mobility so much. I just
remember being able to play all over the field from full back to H-back to tight end to lining
up at receiver, it’s helped so much. And even to this day, just constantly keeping my active
feet. Tap dancing is one of those things where you have to have control but also not have
control. It’s a weird dynamic and it’s helped so much in my game, and I know I sound like a
broken record and I’m sorry, but it’s hard. God knows the words I’m trying to say, I just can’t
formulate how to say them.”
(On tap dancing potentially becoming part of his rookie video) “Yeah, I know. I’m going to
have to start practicing.”
(On if he had an exchange with Texas A&M teammate TE Nate Boerkircher who was also
drafted by Jacksonville) “No, not yet. I’m going to hit him up. It’s hard because as soon as I
found out and I checked my phone, I had 80 messages came in all at once. And then me
and my fiancé, we both took a social media break this whole month because just social
media’s very toxic and we wanted to enjoy life before it starts getting busy again, went on a
family trip. So, I got back on Instagram for today and then I was like, ‘Oh,’ and I deleted it
already. So, I was like, we’ll look at this another day.”
(On what Jacksonville is getting in Boerkircher) “They’re going to get a dog, amazing run
blocker. He’ll do whatever you need him in the pass to do. Great locker room guy. He plays
with a chip on his shoulder. I know most of you know he started off as a walk on at
Nebraska. So, he plays with a different level of grit to him.”
(On what size shoe he wears) “Depends on the shoe. It depends on how the shoe is, but 14
to about 16, that’s my size range. But in cleats I have to wear usually a 16 or 17, just
because cleats run a little bit tighter, but usually in shoes from a 14 to a 16.”
(On his fiancés name) “Kaley. It’s K-A-L-E-Y.”
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN EMMANUEL PREGNON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026
(On how it feels to be a Jaguar) “It feels great. I’m forever grateful. I feel like the man of the
hour. This process was up and down. I just kept my head down, kept working, stayed true to
the process and everything that’s got me to this point, and now I’m here.”
(On if he knew the Jaguars had interest) “I believe they had interest in me.”
(On his journey through high school and college) “Yeah, for sure. So, coming out of high
school, I wasn’t very heavily touted. I wasn’t looked at, but I didn’t let that discourage me. I
knew that it was work to be done, work needed to be put in, and I was willing and ready to
do whatever I needed to do to get the exposure that I needed so I could do my part on the
field. I came in from Thomas Jefferson [High School], went to Wyoming, I got another
opportunity, went to USC and then got another opportunity and went to Oregon.”
(On what he would say to fans who are unfamiliar with his game) “I would say a tireless
work ethic, a relentless mentality, just an absolute dog mentality. Willing and ready to do
whatever it takes to help the team to help the team win and succeed and just honestly
dominate because that’s the type of player I feel like I am is a dominator. I impose my will
on others, whether they like it or not, and that’s what I’m going be there to do.”
(On how he was able to stay healthy while playing a high number of snaps in college) “Yeah,
that’s the consistency and routine and understanding that it takes more work than honestly”
just going to your trainers and them giving you a sheet to do to take care of your body. It
comes down to the initiative and how willing you are to really learn about those things.
Learn about your body, what works for you, what doesn’t work for you and then create your
process, create your routine in order to sustain a healthy body and be durable, have
longevity.”
