Soko Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 The GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I really haven’t heard the guy’s name at all this season, despite the roster in Jacksonville being one of the NFL’s most talented. Caldwell opted to dump Mike Mularkey (good choice!) and hire Gus Bradley (bad choice...). His first draft in 2013 was pretty abysmal. That draft featured Luke Joeckel, Jonathan Cyprien, Ace Sanders, Dwayne Gratz, and Denard Robinson. A couple of these guys are still in the NFL today, but the fact that a weaker team didn’t even feel the need to retain these players says a lot. The following year in 2014? That draft has a lot of this year’s core depth/starters. Blake Bortles, Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Aaron Colvin, Telvin Smith, and Brandon Linder. Bortles still isn’t really much to write home about, but the draft as a whole has to be seen as a big hit. The following two drafts (2015, 2016) had some more misses than 2014, but also added some high end athletes to the squad. Myles Jack, Dante Fowler, Jalen Ramsey, and Yannick Nkagoue. Some depth guys thrown in there too. Finally, in 2017, virtually every pick either had a part on the team or at least looks to have a solid future on the team. Leonard Fournette, Dawuane Smoot, Cam Robinson, and Dede Westbrook. Meanwhile, the team has been adding free agents over the years. Some of the lesser guys were added with sizable salaries, but no guarantees. More recently, there have been players that get signed that end up being key pieces. Calais Campbell, AJ Bouye, Barry Church, Tashaun Gipson, and Malik Jackson. The Jaguars had a lot come together for them, seemingly all in the same year. That’s how lots of these teams end up happening (Seattle, Denver) - good FA signings with drafted talent coming of age. Caldwell’s success has been largely uncelebrated this season from my perspective - how do you feel about him as a GM? How does he compare to others around the NFL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
49erurtaza Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Well when you draft in the top 5 for years you end up with good players. But I would say his free agent pickups have been great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmad Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 I'm kind of surprised he outlasted Gus Bradley, feels like he should've been fired despite his solid drafting for bungling the QB situation and coaching situation for 4 seasons. Now with Doug Marrone and Blake Bortles surpassing expectations he'll get a lot of credit, a nice extension and a long leash. Which is probably a good thing but this season feels like a fluke for the jaguars and they'll revert to the mean next season (Hopefully not but everyone crashes after success unless you're the patriots) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EaglesPeteC Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 7/10. I'd smash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakuvious Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 He's done some very good work there. I think he'll start to get his due in terms of credit should Jacksonville sustain their success. I think it certainly helps his resume that probably his two biggest blunders (hiring Gus Bradley and drafting Luke Joeckel) were considered great moves at the time. Pretty much everyone knew Bradley would be a HC somewhere that offseason, and it was seen as a good get for Jacksonville. Joeckel was basically Aaron Curry in the sense that he was the safest player in the draft and somehow busted. So I don't know that I even really blame him for the poor start to his tenure there. He did reasonable moves that didn't pan out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilenFroggen Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 7 hours ago, 49erurtaza said: Well when you draft in the top 5 for years you end up with good players. But I would say his free agent pickups have been great. Browns don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 He will start to get recognition once this team shows consistency going forward. A very good team has been assembled there, but there have been several GMs that were at one time considered good because their teams had assembled great talent, but they werent able to maintain it. Remember AJ Smith? Jerry Angelo? Scott Pioli? Tom Donahoe? All of these guys were, at one time, considered great GMs after having some good years of bringing in great players, but they eventually faded and were ultimately viewed as pretty mediocre GMs when all was said and done. Not saying it will happen to Caldwell, and he definitely deserves some praise for what he has done thus far, but it honestly takes a long time to really figure out how good a GM truly is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
49erurtaza Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 9 hours ago, DaveDX said: Browns don't. It's more that they trade out of top 5 pick it seems every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom cody Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 He's doing a good job with the team, nice to see them competing and 1 win away from their 1st Super Bowl appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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