When the Jacksonville Jaguars fired Trent Baalke, they didn't do it because he was bad at acquiring talent. Instead, his inability to get along with the coaching staff was among the main reasons for his dismissal. Just recently, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports talked about another Baalke's flaw that led to his downfall and isn't discussed nearly enough.
During a sitdown on 1010 XL, Prisco said that Baalke wasn't a bad evaluator but his biggest flaw as the general manager was building depth across the roster, pointing out that there was steep decline in production whenever a starter missed time.
"Because one thing Jacksonville has done a poor job of is drafting and developing guys that can be ready to step in," Prisco said when discussing the Jaguars' biggest weaknesses. "When the Eagles have a guy go down. For example, [Jordan] Mailata went down for a while. Fred Johnson would play tackle and did a nice job."
Prisco continued, "When, when the right guard gets hurt, [Tyler] Steen, who they drafted Alabama, steps in and plays. He's not Beckton, but he steps in and doesn't... Where's Jacksonville's backups? They don't develop any of them. So I think at some point in this draft they got to draft a couple of offensive linemen for developmental reasons."
Prisco isn't wrong. Baalke acquired several building blocks throughout his stint in Duval. Moreover, he did a solid job of retaining homegrown talent. That said, the Jags routinely lacked depth at most positions.
For instance, the Jags had a strong chance to make the playoffs in 2023 after an 8-3 start but virtually all hopes went up in smoke once the injuries began to pile that year. Among the units that lacked depth were the offensive and defensive line, the wide receiver corps, and the cornerback group.
Arguably, the only positions where depth wasn't an issue the past three years were left tackle and linebacker. Of course, it's not realistic to expect second-stringers to play at an All-Pro level when thurst in the action, but Jacksonville's dearth of depth with Baalke at the helm held the team back.
Below is Prisco's full exchange on 1010 XL. His comments about the Jaguars' dearth of depth start at the 5:52 mark.
James Gladstone will be tasked with building depth across the Jaguars roster
To replace Trent Baalke, the Jacksonville Jaguars hired James Gladstone. While the 34-year-old general manager has several talented pieces to work with, he'll also need to address several needs. The offensive and the defensive line should be his priority, but the cornerback group could also need a starter and depth.
Gladstone will also need to decide what to do at quarterback. Trevor Lawrence is entreched as the starter, but backup Mac Jones is slated to hit the open market. Bringing him back would make sense, but if he leaves, the Jags will have to either sign a veteran in free agency or draft a developmental prospect.
Either way, Jacksonville must have insurance at the position. After all, Lawrence has missed time each of the past two seasons, and the team has struggled when he's been unavailable. The team's brass must ensure that's not the case again in 2025.
The bottom line is that depth isn't probably at the top of the Jaguars' to-do list but it shouldn't be overlooked. It's one of the reasons they've struggled to win games the past two years and Trent Baalke is gone.