5 Jacksonville Jaguars with most to gain from a positive 2022 draft

5. Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke.

Almost everyone was glad the Jaguars gave Urban Meyer his walking papers but fans showed displeasure with the organization’s decision to keep Trent Baalke, who was promoted to general manager last year after being hired as director of player personnel in 2020.

Despite the fact that the Jaguars got a lot of backlash for sticking with Baalke, their support didn’t wane and he’s currently ready to oversee his second draft in Jacksonville. Now, whether you agree with the decision not to fire him, you need to root for him to hit it out of the ballpark and reload the Jags’ roster. Baalke doesn’t have a particularly strong track record and failed to replenish the San Francisco 49ers’ roster, which played a role in his dismissal as the general manager.

All things considered, Baalke had a good first half of the draft in 2021. He found four potential starters. However, he struck out with their later picks. Although it may be a high hurdle to clear, he needs to have an even better draft in 2022. After all, he didn’t want to go anywhere and is now tasked with fortifying the Jaguars roster. If he does, he might still be an unpopular figure in Jacksonville but you will no longer hear chatter about his job security, at not with the same frequency.

Baalke may or may not care what others think of him but for the Jaguars’ sake, he must come out of the draft with a great haul.