How Jacksonville Jaguars' fearless GM shocked NFL with Travis Hunter draft day trade
What would you do if you weren't afraid of failure?
It's a question that perfectly describes Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone.
He operates from a place where fear isn't real. Moving through thoughts of doubt as if they're figments of his imagination.
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The 34-year-old, first-time shot caller of the Jaguars lives boldly.
Hunter is Home: Jacksonville Jaguars 'making a statement' with Travis Hunter. It will speak loudly on future
It's a confidence many don't expect such a young NFL executive to exude. But for Gladstone, the preparation put into the work he does is enough to put doubt to bed.
'I know every step that I didn't take that related to fear, I regretted,' Gladstone said during his media availability after the first night of the NFL Draft. 'So, that's not something I intend on doing the rest of my life.'
In his first draft in Jacksonville, he made the boldest move in franchise history. Gladstone, along with the entirety of the Jaguars' brain trust, conceived and executed a plan to trade for two-way star Travis Hunter.
General manager James Gladstone (middle) stands with head coach Liam Coen (right) and Executive Vice President Tony Boselli during the 2025 NFL Draft.
Hunter was adamant ahead draft about how he wanted to be used at the next level. And if not?
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'It's never playing football again,' Hunter told CBS Sports. 'Because I've been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it.'
The move couldn't be made without embracing Hunter's desire to play on both sides of the ball in the NFL. The same as he's done since his high school days when he emerged as the consensus No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class.
It was never a doubt for the Jaguars.
"There are players who have the capacity to alter a game. There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team," Gladstone said. "There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself.
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"Travis, while he has a lot to still earn, in our eyes, has the potential to do just that."
Jaguars are building bridges one football at a time
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone spins a football in the palm of his hand during the 2025 NFL Draft
Gladstone came into the press conference on Friday night holding a football. The Jaguars released a photo of him holding a football while watching the team's voluntary workouts earlier in the offseason.
So, why is the football so important?
'Life feels a little better when a ball is in your hand. So, I guess you can just say it's some version of a fidget spinner,' he initially said, downplaying the importance of the ball.
It goes further than that, though.
When head coach Liam Coen spoke with media members at the NFL Owner's Meetings, he described the power of touch. It's a study about how the best teams touch each other.
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He gave the example of NBA players at the free throw line dapping their teammates up in between shots. It's a culture builder, to him.
Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen, left, talks with the team's first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, right, Friday, March 25, 2025 at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. during a press conference. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
More Hunter stories: Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Hunter reacts to Shedeur Sanders being drafted by Browns
The Jaguars created another touchpoint through the sharing of a football.
'Liam and I, like the power of touch, it's our version of touch with each other. We can toss a ball back and forth, brainstorming. So, it's become a version of a bridge,' Gladstone said.
That bridge was extended to Hunter upon arrival at the Miller Electric Center on Friday morning. When Hunter entered his press conference later in the day, he was holding the football Gladstone had the previous night.
"There are players who have the capacity to alter a game. There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team. There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself. Travis, while he has a lot to still earn, in our eyes, has the potential to do just that.' - Jaguars GM James Gladstone.
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When asked how he got the football, Hunter replied: 'How did I get the football? Walked in the building and took it from [Gladstone].'
'It didn't take long for Travis to produce his first takeaway,' Gladstone joked later in the press conference.
In a video Hunter released to his YouTube account, he and Coen were firing the ball back and forth in the hallway of the MEC. In the same video, as Hunter sat in an office with leadership members of the Jaguars, Gladstone said the team has a 'bold (expletive) vision' for Hunter.
'We got you. I don't mean, like, we've acquired you,' he said. 'We got you. We're supporting you. You've got a bold (expletive) vision for what you want to do on planet Earth, and we've got a bold (expletive) vision for you.'
Jaguars didn't flinch in Travis Hunter pursuit, set new standard for franchise
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter is portrayed spinning a football on his fingertips.
One of the major questions in the lead-up to the draft: Would the team that drafted Hunter be comfortable with him playing on both sides of the football?
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The answer for the Jaguars? A resounding, yes.
'We know that he's going to be able to do both. We feel that in our bones,' Coen said during Hunter's introductory press conference. 'We're going to set that up that way from a schedule, from an operations standpoint, the way that we're going to operate for him, to set him up to have the most success that he can to, in fact, then help the Jacksonville Jaguars become the best version of ourselves.'
The Jaguars kept their move very close to the vest.
The first real rumblings of a potential trade with the Browns came the night before the draft. Still, at that time it seemed like a far-fetched idea for the Jaguars to jump from No. 5 overall to No. 2.
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It'd cost too much draft capital.
But for a man without fear, the capital was never a concern. Especially since he could get some of it back in later-round trades, which is exactly what he did in the third round when he traded back from pick No. 70 and acquired two third-round picks in the 2026 draft in the process.
The Jacksonville Jaguars' first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, left, listens as General Manager James Gladstone, right. Answers questions during a press conference Friday, March 25, 2025 at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
'Not being scared is something that goes a long way. Courage goes a long way,' Gladstone said. 'With that, and with inexperience, that's where fear starts to set in, and the fear of the unknown is something that if you can work past, there's no telling what you can get to.
'I think we certainly wanted to reflect that not only in tonight's actions, but in every action that we take in our normal modes of operation.'
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Gladstone implied Hunter could be a franchise-altering pick. It took a franchise-altering decision maker to get the deal done.
Now that the Jaguars have one, there's no limit to what boundaries they'll test next.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars GM had the guts snag Travis Hunter in NFL Draft
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