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Jacksonville Jaguars early success stories: Undrafted B.J. Green, Danny Striggow make team
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- Jacksonville Jaguars early success stories: Undrafted B.J. Green, Danny Striggow make team
It was as if Jaguars general manager James Gladstone was waiting — and hoping — to be asked about B.J. Green II and Danny Striggow during his media briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Sure, Gladstone had the full 53-man roster and selected departed players to discuss, but folks on the personnel side of an organization take a particular pride in undrafted rookies like Green and Striggow making the roster.
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"I'm glad you highlighted that portion (of the process)," Gladstone said.
Green and Striggow were two of 20 undrafted free agents acquired by the Jaguars this spring and beat out previously drafted players Yasir Abdullah and Mason Cole , among others. That makes them a highlight.
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This wasn't an opportunity for Gladstone to take a personal victory lap. No, it was a chance for him to hat-tip the Jaguars ' entire operation.
The odds were stacked against them, but Green and Striggow won.
Around the league, seven undrafted rookies made the Minnesota Vikings ' initial roster (that has to be some kind of record), six made the Cleveland Browns and three made the Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers , just to mention four other teams. These players must beat out veterans and draft picks.
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Green and Striggow represent two success stories on more than two fronts, which is why Gladstone was so eager to discuss them.
Credit the players. They showed up during camp to earn a role.
Credit the personnel staff. They work hundreds of hours in the fall and spring to identify players who may not have a draft-worthy grade, but have value.
Credit the coaching staff. They are involved in the pre-signing process, but once they get the players in their meeting room, the coaches have to crash-course these rookies.
"I point back to my time with the ( Los Angeles ) Rams and the undrafted college free agent process was something we took a lot of pride in," Gladstone said. "We deployed a very similar operation (with the Jaguars)."
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Well done to all parties.
Jaguars' undrafted rookie history
Let's face it, undrafted rookies benefit from being signed by first-year regimes … and the Jaguars have had a few of them.
Since 2012, the Jaguars had new general managers/decision makers in 2013, 2017, 2021 and this year and new coaches in 2012, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2022 and this year.
New regimes equal fresh slates.
New regimes mean your draft status means squat.
New regimes tend to lean toward "their" guys.
Back in the day, during the Dave Caldwell Era, defensive tackle Abry Jones (2013), guard Tyler Shatley and receiver Allen Hurns (2014), safety Andrew Wingard (2019) and running back James Robinson (2020) made the team as undrafted free agents.
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Jones played 105 games over eight years for the Jaguars (52 starts). Shatley played 145 games over a decade (51 starts). Hurns had a 1,031-yard, 10-touchdown season in 2015, which he parlayed into a new contract (19 touchdowns in four seasons). Wingard projects as a starting safety Sept. 7 against Carolina. And Robinson rushed for 1,070 yards as a rookie.
In this year's draft, after the Jaguars made the blockbuster trade to select Travis Hunter second overall, and addressed safety (twice), offensive line (twice), running back (twice) and linebacker (one).
The Jaguars didn't draft a defensive lineman for the first time since 2013 and only the fourth time in franchise history.
Gladstone knew they needed to sign multiple undrafted defensive linemen.
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Green (6-foot-1, 270 pounds) played at Arizona State and Colorado, totaling 21 sacks in 49 games. Striggow (6-foot-5, 255 pounds) played all five collegiate years at Minnesota and had 14 1/2 sacks in 52 games.
"I have to give a lot of credit to our position coach (Matt Edwards) and our scouting staff who were paired together to sign (Green and Striggow) after the draft and identify those two guys as the highest priority of the position group," Gladstone said. "Obviously, that was something in the recruitment efforts that was intriguing to both of those guys. (The players) saw a path to potentially finding a spot."
Sacks in preseason finale
If Striggow and Green needed to clinch their spots, it likely happened last week against the Miami Dolphins . Striggow showed good awareness rushing from the left end spot, darting inside for the sack when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa climbed the pocket and Green showed good burst by winning around the right edge to sack Tagovailoa.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Danny Striggow (92) walks off the field after an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
"It became abundantly clear that they were making a dent in real-live performances and that was (also) the case in practice settings (in) both showing up not only on defense, but also special teams," Gladstone said.
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The Jaguars have an interesting mix at the edge position. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are the starters. Dawuane Smoot is back for a second tour and Emmanuel Ogbah provides experience.
"The make-up of the room is from all different forms of acquisition and it's (been) pretty cool to see it take shape and see people earn their opportunities and earn their place," Gladstone said.
The roster math may not work out for Green and/or Striggow to be active early in the season, but they are cool stories regardless.
"They committed themselves to the process, accepted the coaching and it's panned out," Gladstone said. "They're made of the right stuff."
O'Halloran can be reached at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars scouts unearthed undrafted duo on 53-man roster
