NFL Draft: Trent Baalke Explains Why the Jaguars Traded Up for Jordan Smith
Staring at the draft board his front office, coaching staff, and scouts have spent the last four months tirelessly creating, Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke had one thought on Saturday: how do we get our guy?
The Jaguars and Baalke had been busy on the first two nights of the draft, picking Trevor Lawrence (No. 1), Travis Etienne (No. 25), Tyson Campell (No. 33), Walker Little (No. 45), and Andre Cisco (No. 65). Then the Jaguars started off round four by picking USC defensive lineman Jay Tufele at No. 106 overall.
But despite the six new additions, Baalke and the Jaguars weren't done. Sure they had grabbed several of their top targets, but they were sitting at pick 130 in the fourth-round following the Tufele selection and quickly began to see targets fly off the board.
As a result, Baalke and the Jaguars executed the first draft day trade of the Baalke/Urban Meyer era in Jacksonville to ensure they could land a player they coveted, which would wind up being UAB edge defender Jordan Smith, a talented but raw edge defender.
With the Los Angeles Rams sitting at No. 121, Baalke and the Jaguars offered up picks 130, 170, and 249 to move up nine spots while also getting pick No. 209 from the Rams in return. When using the Harvard Trade Value chart, the Jaguars gave up 149.8 points of value and got back 117.7.
It was an aggressive move, and one that saw the Jaguars give up some value to be able to land their target in Smith. But it was a move Baalke stood by Saturday.
“Well, when you look at the board, again, our board is based on value and at that point in time, he was clearly the highest rated guy on our board, and we just didn’t feel comfortable with what we may possibly get if we weren’t able to get him," Baalke explained on Saturday. "So, we just made the decision to move up and be aggressive.”
Smith is a former four-star recruit who originally joined the Florida Gators but spent the past two years at UAB, during which time he posted 14.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss. Smith was suspended by Florida in 2017 following allegations surrounding a credit card fraud scheme and left the team in 2018, transferring to Butler Community College (Kansas) where he recorded 77 tackles, 22.5 for loss, and 11 sacks.
Smith is the lone pass-rusher the Jaguars added in this week's draft, slotting the tall and long speed demon behind Josh Allen and K'Lavon Chaisson. Smith isn't ready to make an impact, but the Jaguars saw too much upside to let him potentially get away.
"He can get off the block, he’s 6’5” and change, he has good first step quickness, he can get skinny," Baalke said.
"His biggest challenge is going to be, because of his linear build, is getting stronger and being able to turn his quickness into power and being able to play with both strength and speed. You need a combination. You’re not going to win with just being a one trick pony in this league.”
