Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke Reflect on Revamped Jaguars Roster
When Trent Baalke was hired as Jacksonville Jaguars general manager, the Jags had just concluded the 2020 NFL season with a 1-15 record. It was their worst finish in franchise history, and awarded them the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
When head coach Doug Pederson was hired in the wake of Urban Meyer’s complete flame-out, the Jaguars were a team without a culture or a leader. They lacked stability throughout their front office and coaching staff and needed someone to take the reins.
A little more than two years later the Jaguars are the odds-on favorite to repeat as AFC South champions after a memorable playoff run. Duval faithful have legitimate reason to be excited for this season thanks in large part to the duo of Pederson and Baalke.
Yesterday the pair addressed the media following their final practice of the week and spoke heavily on the steps forward the roster has taken both this offseason and over the last two years. Under the leadership of Pederson and Baalke, the Jaguars have become more aggressive in their acquisition of talent.
“We’ve had draft picks and we’ve had the money to spend in free agency these last couple of years,” said Pederson. “We understand the roster changes every year, but we needed to get better and we needed to get better in a hurry. In order to put a championship roster together, that’s what you got to do.”
The rapid acquisition of talent by Baalke has been a breath of fresh air for an organization which secured its fourth-ever division crown last season. In the past two offseasons alone the team has signed wide receivers Zay Jones and Christian Kirk, and traded for fellow wideout Clavin Ridley and tight end Evan Engram.
“Obviously, we know we got the quarterback. We feel like we got the skill around him and the pieces are there,” said Pederson. “The one thing I will say with this team is they’re in the right frame of mind.”
“Ditto coach’s answer. We feel good about the group we have,” Baalke added. “It’s a good group of guys, they work hard, they’re close-knit both in the locker room and outside the walls of this building.”
Bolstering their aggressive stance on free agency is an incredible ‘hit’ rate on draft targets. The Jaguars initial 53-man roster includes six members each from the 2021 and 2022 classes, and a whopping 10 from April’s draft.
With 22 of the team’s last 29 draft selections on the 2023 roster, the Jaguars are set up nicely to remain competitive for years to come. The improvements the Jaguars have made on the field directly mirror the ones they’ve made internally, and it appears as though the continuity has already shown some early returns:
“I just think the guys have been around each other now for a full season. They’ve been around us as a staff, they know how we operate. I just think that’s where the confidence comes from and the closeness of the group,” said Pederson. “You got the same leaders that are here and that’s huge. You’re not changing a lot of those players out. It’s the same guys we worked with last year, they’ve matured one year, they know everything about us and that’s where it comes from.”
The Jaguars hit rock bottom, and in just two seasons found themselves back in the NFL playoffs. As of now the Jaguars hold the twelfth-best odds to hoist the Lombardi in February; there is reason for genuine confidence thanks to invaluable contributions of both Baalke and Pederson.
