GM James Gladstone on Jaguars’ RB Plans after Travis Etienne’s Departure

Travis Etienne is a Saint now. James Gladstone is unbothered.

The Jaguars general manager joined the Rich Eisen Show to walk through how Jacksonville plans to fill the running back hole left by Etienne's exit to New Orleans. The answer, in Gladstone's framing, sounds less like a replacement and more like a redistribution.

"I think Liam's always been a strong proponent of a committee approach and being able to leverage multiple runners and varying running styles together."

The room is taking shape around four names. Chris Rodriguez was brought in via Washington but already knows the system from his time with Liam Coen at Kentucky. Gladstone called out his feel for inside runs specifically. Bhayshul Tuten, a year-ago draft pick, took a real step in his rookie campaign behind Etienne. Gladstone said the plan is to activate Tuten in a more significant manner. LaQuint Allen, drafted in the seventh round last year, carved out a real third-down role and is, in Gladstone's words, an extremely good pass protector. DJ Dallas joined the team late last season, contributed on special teams, and brings a veteran presence.

The shape of the room, in other words, is built on style variance more than star power. That is the Coen blueprint.

The draft itself worked in Jacksonville's favor for a different reason. The first round expanded to eight minutes per pick this year. Without a first-round selection, Gladstone got more prep time, not less. "You got to appreciate having a little extra time to prep for what lies after it." He noted, dryly, that the Rams trained him for this. "It's not unfamiliar territory for me or whatever you might label as stillness on day one of the draft without a first round pick at your disposal." Pick 56 overall, the Jaguars' actual entry point this year, is not even the longest he has waited.

The Rams thread runs through the whole conversation. Gladstone came up under Les Snead. Coen came up under Sean McVay. The shared lineage shapes how the bunker operates day to day, but Gladstone was clear that what they are building in Jacksonville is its own thing. "The further we get removed from it, the less similar it'll be just innately. But certainly things that we draw back from during our experience there."

The tight end room got two new bodies in this draft, which Rich flagged as a Snead-style stockpile. Gladstone connected it back to the London game against the Rams, where heavy personnel attacked the Jaguars defensively. He sees it as a leaguewide trend that is going to keep showing up. The position had good options this year. Jacksonville wanted to level up the internal competition.

And then the part Gladstone admitted is genuinely freeing. He has never had to walk into a draft hunting for a quarterback. Not in his Rams years, where his arrival overlapped with Jared Goff's first season, and not now in Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence in place. "That's pleasant."

The quarterback is settled. The backfield, by design, is committee. The shape of the Liam Coen Jaguars is filling in.