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Liam Coen: Jacksonville Jaguars NFL free agency additions will help 'settle' things
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- Liam Coen: Jacksonville Jaguars NFL free agency additions will help 'settle' things
PALM BEACH — The Jacksonville Jaguars have concluded their free agency plans and have turned their attention to the 2025 NFL Draft .
Jaguars general manager James Gladstone provided his thoughts on the team's nine-player haul after the start of the new league year a couple of weeks ago. The first opportunity the media got to ask head coach Liam Coen about the team's players and plan was Monday at the NFL Owners Meetings in South Florida .
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Coen was all smiles as he met reporters inside the tents outside of The Breakers resort and hotel, saying in other words, so far, so good.
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"I think at the end of the day what we looked to do was try to continue to raise the floor of the organization. How do we continue to get better? Consistency, good, sound football players that love to play the game," Coen explained about the team's free agency.
"Really, that's all we were trying to do, and I think that ultimately, they'll come in and mesh really well with some of the players that we already have in our locker room. Guys want to get better. We've felt that. We've felt that throughout this offseason. Guys are eager to get in the building as we are as coaches. It's happening fast."
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The Jaguars invested in nine players during the early portion of free agency, including:
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CB Jourdan Lewis , Cowboys
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QB Nick Mullens , Vikings
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TE Johnny Mundt , Vikings
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TE Hunter Long , Rams
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WR Dyami Brown , Commanders
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S Eric Murray , Texans
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OL Patrick Mekari , Ravens
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OT Chuma Edoga , Cowboys
Jacksonville Jaguars heavily invest in offensive line in NFL free agency
The Jaguars later added offensive lineman Fred Johnson , bringing more depth to the team's offensive line, a priority this offseason .
"I think if you look with the four OL, those guys at the end of the day with [OL Patrick] Mekari, [OL] Chuma Edoga , [OL] Robert Hainsey and obviously [OL Fred] Johnson, these guys love to play the game. They love what it's about to be an O-lineman," Coen said of the team's additions.
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"That's kind of who they are at the core. Hainsey's been in the system, so now you have two O-linemen that have been in your system or some version of it with [OL] Luke Fortner and now Hainsey. That'll help spread out to a lot of our players. They'll be able to understand the system a little bit quicker, and coaches it's going to help in so many different ways."
Fortner played for Coen in 2021 when the latter was Kentucky's offensive coordinator. Fortner was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft and has started 34 games in his career at center. Hainsey worked with Coen last year when the head coach was Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator.
The Jaguars also upgraded their receiving room, adding former Washington Commanders receiver Dyami Brown to the roster. Brown is someone Gladstone said has untapped potential, and Coen believes having a player opposite of Brian Thomas Jr. with speed will pay dividends.
The Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen answered questions during a press conference where the team introduced general manager James Gladstone Monday morning February 24, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]2025
"Somebody else that can go down the field so BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] is not always having to be that guy on the top shelf," Coen said when explaining the team's free agency acquisitions.
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"You look at somebody that's able to attack the field at all three levels. He can go down the field on the post, in the go, in the pylons and be the top shelf, but also you can throw him a screen and he can go and do something with it. I can't coach that," Coen later explained when asked about Brown.
"I can't coach you to go and make three people miss after you've caught the ball. We can try. I'll teach an obstacle course, some open field running, sideline stiff arm, but at the end of the day, we're getting the play so you can go be you with the ball in your hands. That's what he can do. Hopefully, he'll be able to help us at all three levels. He's hungry."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jaguars made sure to address the team's secondary, acquiring Lewis and Murray to help settle the backend of the defense down.
"You really look at [CB] Jourdan Lewis to be able to bring another veteran defensive back in there to help settle things down in the back end, increasing competition with [S] Eric Murray . I think we've done a nice job with being able to get those players that'll help settle things in and be able to create that balanced football flow that we're looking for," Coen explained of the team's defensive additions this offseason.
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Liam Coen remains 'confident' in roster after Evan Engram , Christian Kirk moves
The Jaguars are turning over the team's pass-catching room this year. They traded receiver Christian Kirk to the Houston Texans and released tight end Evan Engram , who quickly signed a deal with the Denver Broncos .
Combined, Kirk and Engram contributed a combined 570 targets, 402 catches, 4,368 yards and 21 touchdowns through three seasons with the team. Their combined targets accounted for 33.5% of the team's targets from 2022-24. That's a lot of targets and production leaving the franchise, but Coen isn't too concerned.
I have a ton of respect for both of those guys. They've done some really good things here. Those were not easy decisions. Ultimately, you hate to let go of good football players, but production, right? Those guys did have a good amount of targets, receptions, some critical plays in different moments of different years," Coen explained.
From left: Evan Engram, Trevor Lawrence, Gabe Davis and Christian Kirk at the 50th anniversary of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach in March 2024.
"So, there's some chemistry, some camaraderie there I'm sure that we have to continue to work on, but I think you saw what BT and Trevor were able to do last year, and then obviously with some of the guys like [WR] Parker Washington had a great connection, and you start to see some of these guys evolve."
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Thomas is expected to be one of the team's top players next season after accomplishing that in his rookie season by way of 87 catches, 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. Thomas was added to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
Though Washington is less proven, he posted the best season of his career last year since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Washington caught 32 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns.
"We're like, okay, this allows us to do some different things within our roster structure and feel confident where it's going moving forward," Coen added.
The Jaguars will have 10 opportunities to add to their passing game in this month's NFL Draft.
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Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars Liam Coen explains team's NFL free agency approach
