AFC Notes: Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, James Gladstone, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard believes that both quarterbacks, Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, will help the team at some point over the course of the season.

“Sometimes you gotta struggle before you can be good,” Ballard said, via Pro Football Talk. “We got two guys that have had some really strong flashes and they’ve had some bad moments too. That’s OK. I think both of them will be better because of this and I think the team will be better because of it. . . . If I’m a betting man, at some point both of them will help us.”

Jaguars

Michael Silver of The Athletic did a deep dive on how everything played out leading up to the move for the Jaguars to trade up for WR/CB Travis Hunter.

• Silver starts by mentioning how the trade to move up to No. 2 overall had been in place since April 7th and was contingent on the Titans going through with QB Cam Ward as the top pick.
• The deal was kept completely silent for the 17 days before Day 1, and people inside the facility started referring to GM James Gladstone as the “Silent Assassin.”
• EVP of football operations Tony Boselli gave his glowing review of Gladstone through their first few months together: “This was a great weekend, and I can’t say enough about James’ leadership, which was world-class. But as he and I both know, the most important thing is what happens on that grass, and everything we do is designed to support that. What’s taking place here is an abrupt and dynamic change — a complete reset. It’s a new day, and we’re going to make that very obvious.”
• Boselli also touched on the clear hierarchy of power since Gladstone took over: “There was a clear understanding of who was in charge and how things were gonna get done. It wasn’t always fun. It was a grind. But you knew where you stood. We weren’t the most talented team. But — to use a term that James loves, but didn’t exist then — we were ‘intangibly rich.'”
• After meeting with Hunter following the selection, Gladstone called it “jaw-dropping,” while Boselli praised his maturity: “This dude’s wild. His maturity level for 21, how he views what he wants to do in football, how he prioritizes his life … it’s crazy.”
• Gladstone went on to discuss why he felt comfortable moving a future first-round pick to get Hunter: “The aura of a first-round pick — it sounds amazing, when it’s just something in the future. Once it’s actually time to pick, it’s not always what it seems.”
• Per Silver, Jacksonville was targeting RB R.J. Harvey and WR Pat Bryant before the Broncos took them.
• Silver also mentioned the Lions called to talk about a deal that would send Detroit’s No. 102 pick and two 2026 third-rounders for the Jaguars’ No. 70 pick. They also got a call from the...