JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

Travis from High Springs, FL

Do you believe ETN has done enough to get a second contract? Or will this be his last season playing for the Jags?

Projecting whether a player entering the final season of a contract will receive a second contract – as is the case entering 2025 with Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. – always is tricky because how a player plays in that final season plays heavily into how this plays out. But the nature of the running back position in the NFL makes this perhaps a bit easier to project. Running backs rarely receive long-term second contracts these days unless they are next-level, All-Pro level players. More "normal" backs often receive shorter deals on second contracts, but in Etienne's case that seems unlikely. This isn't because Etienne isn't a good player. It's because the Jaguars have drafted smartly and brought in running backs such as Tank Bigsby and Bhayshul Tuten since selecting Etienne. The presence of the younger players make it likely that Etienne is entering his final Jaguars season. That's how it feels. We'll see.

Bill from Ponte Vedra

Is it possible that Hunter will play mostly on offense but take a few extra plays off to save him for more plays on defense?

Travis Hunter, selected by the Jaguars No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, will start his NFL career playing cornerback and wide receiver. Because no player in the last six-and-a-half decades has tried to play offense and defense to the extent that Hunter will do this, there is no preexisting template – and as such, I expect the nuances of the Jaguars' plan will change over time. The plan to start is that Hunter will spend about 75 percent of preparation/practice time on offense and 25 percent on defense, then play full time on offense with packages on defenses. I expect he might play a few plays less at times on offense than others in some games and a few plays more on offense than others in some games. A plan is a plan until it's enacted, then you adapt to the plan as needed and as circumstances dictate.

Cliff from Everywhere with helicopter

Your reference to the "Travis Hunter Experience" struck a chord and going forward I will refer to the newest Jaguar star as merely THE. If he turns out to be everything we hope he will be, being known simply as THE will be appropriate.

THE.

Greg from Section 122, SOTF, Jacksonville

I have been a fan of football for going on five decades now. One thing I heard, not sure who said it, but still rings true: "You can't teach speed. Everything else can be taught, but speed ... you either got it, or you don't." That is what excites me and seeing that our wide receiver group has the skills along with speed … wow, gives me goose bumps. That said, how do you think the new offensive approach will differ from former Head Coach Doug Pederson's approach? He constantly said you pass to score and run to win the game? Is that a pretty universal concept? Looks like our new coach is gearing up to be more like the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots of old where you put the opponent in such a scoring deficient problem they are always playing to catch up...

I hesitate to call any offense in the NFL these days run-centric. This is because it's very difficult for any offense to be effective in the running game if defenses don't feel the constant threat of the pass. Having said that, I expect Head Coach Coen's offense to be more run-centric than Pederson's system.

Rob from Jacksonville

When it comes time for the fifth-year option or an extension, is Travis Hunter a wide receiver or does simple play percentage dictate one over the other?

We're two or three years from this being an urgent question when it comes to Hunter, but a fifth-year option for the purposes of this discussion applies to first-round selections in the NFL Draft. All drafted NFL rookies sign four-year contracts, with teams having the ability to exercise an option on the player for the fifth year. A team must decide whether or not to do this following the player's third season. The NFL in that scenario designates the player's position based on the position where he played the most snaps in his third season. With that being determined, the league then determines the player's fifth-year salary based from one of four tiers based on the player's performance to that time. In Hunter's case, the league presumably would designate him a receiver or a cornerback based on where he played the most snaps. Remember, though: A player who plays well early in his career usually signs a long-term extension before the fifth season. That usually renders the fifth-year option moot.

Kelton from Three Forks

Every time I listen to James Gladstone talk about football or anything in general, I feel smarter and ready to take on anything. I hope he doesn't burn out trying to raise the IQ level around the office there in Jacksonville.

Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone is a unique guy, and that uniqueness stems in part from a combination of intelligence and the ability to communicate that intelligence in an understandable form. Having one of the two is cool. Having both traits in one package is when you get a leader who can raise the effectiveness and level of understanding of an organization. That's impressive stuff, and it can only be a positive for the Jaguars.

Richard from Jacksonville

Has anyone ever won the Super Bowl the same year they opened a new stadium?

The Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowl VI in January 1972 after opening Texas Stadium in 1971. That's it.

Kenneth from Jacksonville

We're wasting a lot of time, Zone. All that matters is how T-Law is looking. You have said it yourself. So, how's he looking?

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence indeed is the No. 1 Jaguars offseason storyline, and how he plays next season will go a long way toward determining the season. Lawrence currently is participating in Phase 2 of the offseason program – a phase in which team drills are not allowed – while returning from surgery to his non-throwing shoulder, all of which is an admittedly roundabout way of saying we won't know much about how Lawrence is looking for a while. Maybe training camp.

Michael from Orange Park, FL

Is this the dead zone? At last?

Loyal O-Zone readers – and he knows who he is – know that the true dead zone is the time between the end of the offseason program and the beginning of training camp. This is called the dead zone because with players and coaches away from the building – and with no games or off-season tentpole events – storylines tend to get rehashed with fewer O-Zone questions. This current time in which we find ourselves – between the draft and minicamp – is a wee biiiiiiiiit slower than usual, but we ain't dead yet. Soon enough, I suppose.

Cliff Everywhere with helicopter

Is it true that Gene Frenette's replacement will be announced by a puff of burned turkey smoke emanating from a garbage can on the street of a residential Arlington neighborhood?

I'll reiterate what I've said before about this topic – that you don't replace someone like former longtime Florida Times-Union sports columnist and Northeast Florida cultural icon/thought leader Eugene P. "Gene" Frenette. You only hope to succeed him. Now, would a puff of burned turkey smoke emanating from a garbage can on the street of a residential Arlington neighborhood be an appropriate way to honor his career? Is that what you're asking? Yes, Cliff. Yes, it would.

Andrew from 904

In Tuesday's O-Zone, you responded to a submission about coaching/scheme negatively impacting the defense by saying (paraphrasing here) coaching rarely alters or dooms a season but there are exceptions to all rules. Was that a nod to you agreeing that maybe the defense was set back by the scheme last season? I agree that players determine the outcome of games/seasons WAY more than coaching but I think having Armstead play out of his normal position and too much rotation on the defensive line made the defense look way worse than it is.

Loyal O-Zone readers – and he knows who he is – know that I like to write it's always coaching in the NFL. This is a tongue-in-cheek way of reminding people that while coaching matters, it's far too overemphasized by fans and analysts. This is particularly true immediate after losses, when fans love to blame the coach for this call or that and forget that players – not coaches – are the ones on the field making plays. Coaches as a rule usually don't dramatically alter or ruin seasons. There are exceptions to all rules.

Sam from Orlando

Where's Don?

Wherever he may be, even when we don't know wherever he may be, remains "all in."