5 biggest moves Jaguars GM Trent Baalke made in 2021

The Jacksonville Jaguars sent shockwaves when they announced they plan to retain general manager Trent Baalke. The decision hasn’t been well-received due to his track record of hiring head coaches and acquiring talent.

Baalke has certainly had his fair share of misses. However, he’s also been behind some solid moves and if you’re going to bring up the bad ones, you need to also talk about the good ones. His first year in Jacksonville could have been better but he also acquired several players that have gone on to become key contributors in 2021.

Now, this may be a tricky situation because former head coach Urban Meyer surely had a big say in all the moves the Jags made this offseason. However, Baalke had to sign most of them so he should get credit (or blame) for them.

With that in mind, here are the best five additions Trent Baalke has made during his tenure in Jacksonville.

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke’s biggest move No. 1 – Drafting Andre Cisco.

The Jaguars knew safety was a position of need earlier this year and took several steps to upgrade it. They signed Rudy Ford and Rayshawn Jenkins in free agency. They also brought back Josh Jones and later selected Andre Cisco in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Out of all safeties the Jags acquired, Cisco may be the best of the bunch. Jenkins was the Day 1 starter but hasn’t many many big plays and has instead made several mistakes. He suffered an ankle fracture in Week 15, which paved the way for Cisco to see the starting lineup.

It’s just a small sample but the rookie out of Syracuse showed in Week 16 he should have seen the field sooner, as he nearly come down with an intercept and later blocked a field goal. Back in college, he showed his ballhawk skills, logging 13 interceptions and 14 passes defensed in 24 starts.

Cisco will most likely start the last two games of the season and if plays well, the coaching staff won’t be able to justify keeping him out of the field. Not bad for a safety that entered the draft process with injury red flags.