Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke talk rookies

With the 2024 NFL Draft now completed, the Jaguars head coach and general manager both spoke with the media to provide fans some insight into the trades completed and players added. Here’s everything you need to know.

The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books and the Jacksonville Jaguars are one weekend closer to a finalized roster. Wrapping up draft weekend, Head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke spoke with the media to provide additional insight and background into the draft additions.

Day One Media Availability:

Trading Up

With fans and national media initially expecting the team to be in the mix to potentially trade into the top 10 this draft, the question of trading up was asked of Baalke early. He unsurprisingly replied that the cost of trading into the top 10 was too steep.

“We had a good beat on where those guys (top three WRs) were going to go, and they pretty much went where we felt like they were going to go. The price to move up into that territory would’ve been really steep. It wasn’t an option, if one of them would’ve slipped a little further, maybe you do it. We just didn’t feel they were going to get into our range and they didn’t get into our range.”

Local favorite Washington WR Rome Odunze was drafted at pick no. 9, as expected, by the Chicago Bears. However, speaking of trading up, it seems the team may have been attempting to trade back into the backend of the first round, from pick 48 for a target. When asked about this Baalke coyly stated:

“We may have.”

However, upon follow up he provided more insight.

“We got here at the end of the draft so we may have. Read into that what you want.”

The final pick of the first round was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Carolina Panthers, who selected South Carolina WR Xavier Legette at 32. Presumably, the Panthers’ trade package was either much better or the Bills had no interest in moving all the way back to pick 48 (instead of moving one pick back).

Trading Down

Later, Baalke discussed the thought process of trading back with the Minnesota Vikings.

“You go into it and I’ve always said you listen to the board. When we were sitting around pick 15 and 16, we started getting some calls. The board looked good, we were in good shape with the needs that we had and the players we had targeted, taking a look at the teams that were between 17 and 23, what their needs were. We just felt the board was solid, it was well worth picking up three extra picks. Really, getting one of the players that we coveted in the draft.”

The Jaguars traded pick 17 in the first round to the Vikings for picks 167 (2024 fifth-round pick), a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Honestly? That’s a Trade-back Trent Masterclass in my opinion. Just don’t tell Baalke that.

”No, I think it was a fair trade. I have a lot of respect for Kwesi [Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensaf] and he’s one of the bright minds in this business when it comes to numbers and analytics and everything else. He’s not going to get fleeced. He did a good job. They got the player they wanted and they gave us what they were willing to give up. It’s not about fleecing one another. No one is going to get one over on another one, it’s just what are they willing to give and are you willing to accept it? Its as simple as that.”

In fewer words, yea. Baalke fleeced Minnesota.

Baalke continued,

“When we got the call to move back to 23, he [Head Coach Doug Pederson] looked at me, I looked at him, we said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ It was kind of like last year.”

As a cherry on top of the sundae, Trent still got his guy, as he explained.

“He [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] was going to be the pick at 17. Like we said, there were other players involved and we just felt the way the board looked and where the needs were, the teams in between us, we felt we had a chance. There’s risk, there’s reward. You make the move back, but we felt we were going to get a really good football player that we had high on our board with the move back. Fortunate that Brian was still there.”

Masterclass, if true.

Consistent, Explosive Plays

With the offseason loss of receiver Calvin Ridley to the Tennessee Titans, the Jaguars offense was in need of an infusion of speed and explosive plays, as explained by Coach Pederson.

“You’re adding a guy that has an element of speed that we haven’t had probably since Calvin [WR Calvin Ridley] last year. Once we get him in here too, and really get our hands on him, get him into the playbook in a couple of weeks and really see how we can use him. I think it can only be a great asset for us on offense to not only open up the field, but I think open up some other elements of the offense.”

Baalke later added to that statement.

“I think throughout the process, coach has been a big supporter from day one when he put on the film. He’s a guy that our scouts identified early in the process. This isn’t a guy that climbed up the board late, he’s always been somebody that we had a lot of appreciation for his skillset. Like coach mentioned earlier, he’s a guy that brings a skillset that we haven’t necessarily had to the level that he brings in terms of he’s 6’027”, 209 pounds and he runs a sub 4.4, mid 4.3. He’s got the production to back it up. I think 22 targets over 20 yards and 15 of them ended up in touchdowns and a 17-plus average. We’re just looking forward to getting him in here, getting our hands on him and going to work.”

This does make Brian Thomas Jr. slightly different from the previous receiver who held his role, as Ridley was also a very fast receiver but inconsistent in capitalizing on those explosive play opportunities. The staff believes that in time, BTJ can have a similar, if not larger impact on the offense while getting younger and cheaper. Time will tell if that rings true.

Day Two Media Availability:

Trading up struggles

The Jaguars seem to have a pick valuation problem. While Trent Baalke has been great at trading back in his Jacksonville drafts, a multi-year critique of Baalke has been an unwillingness to pay the necessary cost to move up in multiple drafts. Over the last two NFL drafts, the team has publicly mentioned they attempted to trade up in multiple rounds with multiple teams, only to be consistently rejected. 2024 Draft, come on down.

“Well if you look historically at the draft in the second round, there’s a run, on corners usually. When they start coming, they come off quick. It wasn’t something that was not expected.”

Baalke continued,

You try to move. Sometimes you can move, sometimes you can’t. Houston obviously wasn’t going to trade their pick. The board is the board, and we feel really good about the players we got and the addition of Jarrian, we feel very strongly that he can come in and compete early on.”

Based on Baalke’s comment (and the specific mention of Houston, who selected CB Kamari Lassiter at pick 42), it would seem that the team again attempted to trade up into the second round to be turned away.

For comparison’s sake, below were the completed 2nd round trades from Friday’s second round before the Jaguars selected at pick 48.

– Chargers get: Nos. 34, 137, Patriots get: Nos. 37, 110

– Falcons get: Nos. 35, 186, Cardinals get: Nos. 43, 79

– Rams get: No. 39, Panthers get: Nos. 52, 155, 2025 second-round pick

– Eagles get: Nos. 40, 78, 152, Commanders get: Nos. 50, 53, 161

– Saints get: No. 41, Packers get: Nos. 45, 168, 190

– Panthers get: No. 46, Colts get: Nos. 52, 142, 155

Those are just the trades that occurred between picks 33 and 48. Six teams, within 15 draft slots, were successful in doing what our GM has struggled to do in two drafts in a row. It would seem that Trent either overvalues his draft picks or certain teams are simply refusing to work with him moving forward. Either option would be a serious problem nevertheless.

Positional flexibility

As mentioned throughout this offseason, the Jaguars are a team that generally favors positional flexibility, as it assists with depth and allows the team to be more multiple. Coach Pederson discussed Jarrian Jones’ ability to play multiple spots to help the team.

“He’s definitely a position flex guy. I can see him playing inside day one and he’s also a really good special teams’ player, so he’s going to give us value there as well.”

Baalke had similar praises for Jones’ positional flexibility.

“He’s a young guy that’s a converted wide receiver, learning the cornerback position and he showed, through the course of the year, especially as the year went on, that he has a real knack for it and he can play inside and outside; he’s not just a nickel. He’s 5’11” and change, it’s 190-plus pounds. He runs 4.39, he can play outside and inside but he happened to play primarily inside there.”

Based on the above comments, Jones will begin the season working at slot but the team is in a solid position. One could still assume that the Jaguars may not be done looking for additional depth at outside CB in this draft and/or free agency, however.

Leadership matters:

As we previously discussed, leadership matters to this team, as they continue to build a consistent, winning locker room culture that is able to withstand a rough stretch of losses or an end-of-season collapse. Enter Jarrian Jones.

“I’ll let you all judge for yourself when he gets here the energy that he has and the way he approaches the game. I mean, this is a ‘love it’ guy. He’s going to bring the energy on a daily basis, and you’d rather have those guys that you’ve got to say ‘whoa’ and pull them back a little bit sometimes rather than always have to kick them in the side. He’s one of those guys that you’re never going to have to worry about coming to work”, Baalke stated to the assembled media.

A team can never have enough glue guys who help the team to turn the tide by showing the right behaviors, giving the right effort, increasing positional communication, doing the dirty work without the fanfare, or just keeping guys locked in when away from the Miller Electric Center found that and more in Jones.

Injury notes:

Similar to the Walker Little 2021 draft pick, the selection of Maason Smith would seem to be the typical buy low opportunity, in a position where depth is needed, selecting a player coming off injury. Before the left knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the 2022 season opener, Smith was widely spoken of as a consensus first round possibility, after being named to the 2021 freshman All-American team.

When discussing Smith, Trent also quickly touched on his 2022 knee injury status, advising that he is currently fully healed.

“He’s one hundred percent cleared from the knee that he suffered two years ago.”

With a slight impact on his 2023 season, the Jaguars bring him in at a one round discount. Baalke continued,

“Matt [Inside Linebackers Coach Matt House] was the d-coordinator there for two years and understands him well, he spoke very highly of him, his passion for the game and stuff. We got to realize, he’s coming off [injury] but he did play this year, as you got to the end of the tape, he was probably 90 percent by the time the end of the year came around and 100 percent when we went and worked him out. He’s running full speed, there’s no lingering issues. He’s a young man that’s got to have a little more time on task, but his upside is substantial.”

Day Three Media Availability:

New kickoff rule impacts on the draft

There has been a significant amount of conversation over the past few weeks surrounding the NFL’s updated kickoff rule change and how it might influence the backend building of rosters. The working theory was, for the most part that teams could opt to draft more tight end and linebacker types for kickoff coverage. However, the implementation of two kick returners means that many teams would also be in need of a secondary kickoff specialist. Baalke touched on the new rule impacts in discussing new team addition RB, Keilan Robinson from Texas.

“I think coach and I talked about it quite a bit from the owners’ meetings through this part of the process. It’s going to change the type of guys you get up front and we’re still tinkering with that. The special teams coaches really don’t know either how this is all going to shape out. So, you’re looking forward to getting on the grass and working with these guys. But it definitely brings the two-kickoff returners into play and that’s the reason we went out and got Keilan [RB Keilan Robinson], that’s going to be a main responsibility of his along with some other things.”

More picks, more options

After trading back with the Minnesota Vikings on Day one, the Jaguars currently have six picks within the first four rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft to potentially maneuver with. Trent spoke about what those picks could provide to the team.

“Well I think it helps you a lot. The more assets you have, the more you’ve got to play with, the more decisions you can make. You can make trades. You can use some of those in different ways. We may use them in a trade effort at some point, you never know. But the more you bank the better off you are.”

Foster viewed as the swing tackle

Trent Baalke confirmed that Missouri OT Javon Foster will compete for the swing tackle role entering the season.

“Well we view him as swing tackle, a guy that can play left and right. He played primarily on the left side in college obviously but went to the Senior Bowl and proved he could line up on the right side. You start him out in a swing position. That’s for the coaches to settle in on what his role is going to be. But really like the size, the length, two-time captain, leader in the SEC, 31 game starter, a lot of things that played into the pick.”

With both Cam Robinson and Walker Little entering the final season of each of their contracts, it is currently unknown exactly what the addition of Foster means for either of those players. Will they be allowed to finish out their contract with the team having depth for injury? Will one be traded or cut in the coming months?

Strengthening the middle of the D

Baalke also touched on the addition of LSU defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson and what he brings to the defense.

“Power. He’s a guy that consistently had great knockback at the point of attack, uses his hands extremely well, dominates his area at the point. That’s another one that the coaching staff went out and worked out along with Maason [DT Maason Smith], they were at the same workout. They spent a lot of time with him, really liked the makeup of the young man. He started at West Virginia, then transferred to LSU. A lot to like and see a big upside in that player.”

He also confirmed that Jordan would be playing nose tackle.

Value or reach?

Much to the chagrin of NFL Draft analysts everywhere, the Jaguars draft board didn’t exactly match the draft think tank “Consensus Big Board”. Based on this, many of Saturday’s picks might have been considered reaches by those publications. However, Trent Baalke, interestingly, confirmed that the teams’ pick of Ole Miss CB Deantre Prince was actually a value pick at that time, not a reach, as they had him higher rated for their defense.

“There’s a six-foot corner that runs, I think clocked in at 4.36 I believe. He’s 184 pounds, the guy can run, he can cover, he’s got instincts. There’s a lot to like. We had him higher on the board than where he fell to us. We really like a lot of things about him. We feel he can come in here and compete.”

Lawrence, Etienne 5th-year option picked up

Towards the end of his availability, Coach Pederson also confirmed that the team would be picking up the 5th-year option for both RB Travis Etienne and QB Trevor Lawrence before the May 5th deadline to do so.