3 observations on the Jacksonville Jaguars early free-agency frenzy

2. The Jaguars were surprisingly active in free agency, that's good

The Jaguars took a conservative approach last year because they believed they had enough talent in place to win the AFC South and make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. That turned out to be a crass miscalculation.

Even though the left guard spot was a pressing need, they chose not to address it. Incumbent Ben Bartch was recovering from a knee injury he suffered in 2022, and when the regular season came, he showed he wasn't 100 percent healthy. The coaching staff turned to backup Tyler Shatley but he wasn't much better. They then bumped left tackle Walker Little inside. Without any better options, they ended up trading for Ezra Cleveland at the deadline.

But at that point, it was a bit too late and left guard remained a question mark throughout 2023. Something similar happened with the pass rush. The Jaguars had several chances in the offseason to add a No. 3 behind Travon Walker and Josh Allen but decided not to.

You could make the case that injuries were to blame for the Jaguars' collapse but the truth is that good teams manage to overcome them. In reality, general manager Trent Baalke didn't do a good job of replenishing the roster, and injuries exposed the team's lack of dearth.

Baalke isn't repeating the same mistake and he's ensuring the Jaguars have plenty of talent to compete. Besides fortifying the trenches, he added several defensive pieces and locked up return specialist Devin Duvernay.

There's still work left to do but it's encouraging to see Baalke operate with a sense of urgency.