Jaguars

• Jaguars GM James Gladstone was pleased with the contribution from Day 3 draft picks and undrafted free agents as the season went on: “We saw by season’s end there was an uptick. We saw an evolution of usage.” (JaguarsWire) 
• As for WR/CB Travis Hunter‘s recovery from a knee injury, Gladstone said things are going as expected: “His rehab process is going as expected. He’s hitting it hard.” 
• Gladstone mentioned that Hunter will still play both receiver and cornerback next season. 
• Jaguars HC Liam Coen added that Hunter’s focus is on his rehab and taking a mental approach to his development: “For him right now it’s about getting his rehab right and diving in mentally.” 
• Gladstone said there isn’t a clear “WR1” for their system under Coen, and the ball can spread around on any given gameday: “The WR1 doesn’t necessarily exist in the system.”
• Coen said WR Brian Thomas Jr. will continue being a focal point of their offense after failing to live up to his rookie production: “BT will 100% be a part of that.” 
• Gladstone thinks QB Trevor Lawrence had a “clear uptick” in his command of Coen’s system: “I was really impressed. There was a clear uptick in command, control, comfort, and playmaking.”
• As for fourth-year LB Devin Lloyd, Gladstone praised him for having an “impactful” year: “Such an impactful season. Extremely happy for Devin and his production this season.” 
• Regarding DE Travon Walker, Gladstone said they want to continue aligning themselves with Walker: “He’s someone we want to align ourselves with moving forward.”

Jaguars 

Jaguars GM James Gladstone said they still expect Travis Hunter to line up at both receiver and cornerback in 2026, and was pleased with the progress he was making before suffering his season-ending knee injury. 

“We still expect him to play on both sides of the ball,” Gladstone said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. “The steps that he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense. It [the injury] was just disappointing timing but nonetheless feel good about where we are heading into this offseason and what next year should hold.”

Gladstone feels that Hunter began to hit his peak around the mid-way mark of the season, but his injury derailed things. 

“With Travis having gotten to a place midseason where you felt like he was starting to peak and really make a real dent, and the plan for post-bye was to continue to enhance that, [it was] tough not to be able to see that come to life down the backstretch,” Gladstone said.

Jaguars HC Liam Coen wants Hunter to take a mental approach this offsason as he recovers. 

“For him right now it’s about getting his rehab right and diving in mentally because of some of the limitations we’ll have throughout the offseason program,” Coen said. “But I’m really excited about getting back to work with Travis and continue that evolution and see what that looks like.”

Texans

The Texans pulled off a 30-6 win over the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round despite QB C.J. Stroud throwing an interception and losing two fumbles after botched snaps. Stroud understands that both teams are going to make big plays in the postseason. 

“We knew on tape that they did a good job of punching at the ball or while you’re throwing, getting your throwing arm,” Stroud said, via Aaron Wilson. “So, I tried to work on that throughout the week. They made plays. These playoff games, from my experience, they’re going to make plays, we’re going to make plays. It’s all about moving forward and trying your best to flush it and keep going.”

Texans LG Tytus Howard praised Stroud for staying poised through the mistakes. 

“C.J. was poised all game,” Howard said. “Whenever stuff wasn’t going his way, he was still poised. We just encouraged him and let him know we got his back. We just never wavered. We knew eventually we were going to have a breakthrough and it ended up happening for us there.”

As for his two fumbles after mishandling snaps from the shotgun, Stroud said he needs to do a better job of catching the ball in shotgun sets. 

“We had some problems with the snaps, me catching them,” Stroud said. “Got to find a way just to catch them and take care of the ball.”