5 biggest moves Jaguars GM Trent Baalke made in 2021

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke’s biggest move No. 5 – Drafting Trevor Lawrence

How much credit does Trent Baalke deserve for drafting Trevor Lawrence? From the get-go, it seemed like the Jacksonville Jaguars had zeroed in on the former Clemson Tiger, and with good reason. He was one best quarterback prospects to come out of the college ranks in years.

Having said that, the Jaguars’ decision-makers needed to perform due diligence on other prospects. Zach Wilson of BYU was also trending up and Justin Fields of Ohio State also had had a case to be the top overall pick in this year’s selection meeting.  In the end, the Jags didn’t overthink this one and ended up choosing Lawrence. Although he’s had a rough rookie campaign, he’s shown enough promise to make the team’s brass feel good about drafting him.

Going back to the original question, Baalke should get credit for drafting Lawrence, all generals do when they draft a franchise quarterback. Bill Polian did when the Indianapolis Colts took Peyton Manning. More recently, Tom Telesco took Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers) and the (Buffalo Bill) chose Josh Allen. While their respective head coaches get praise for their development, Telesco and Beane were the ones that made the pick and if Lawrence turns out to live up to expectations, Baalke should as well.

Has Baalke made mistakes throughout his career as a general manager? Sure, and some of them cost him his job with the San Francisco 49ers. Does he need to do a better job of identifying talent and adjusting his draft approach? You bet, but he also had gotten several picks right and deserves credit for it.