3 things Jacksonville Jaguars must change to find success in 2024

1. Trent Baalke needs to focus on doing his job, draft good players

Not long ago, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that Trent Baalke wasn't pleased with Press Taylor's performance as the offensive coordinator. Even though it's true that Taylor needs to craft a more imaginative game plan and do a better job of preparing his players, that's not something Baalke should be paying attention to. Instead, he should be looking at a mirror if he wants to know where things went wrong last year.

While Baalke did a good job of drafting a handful of building blocks in 2021, the jury is still out in his past two draft classes. Travon Walker, the first overall pick in 2022, has progressively gotten better but the Jaguars are still waiting for other players in the same class to step up. The same is true for their 2023 counterpart. Leaving right tackle Anton Harrison and defensive back Antonio Johnson aside, last year's class was underwhelming.

The fact that Jacksonville had 13 picks last year but only got production from two players is a reason for concern, and that falls on Baalke. Of course, not everything is gloom and doom. He signed linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, tight end Evan Engram, wide receiver Christian Kirk, and cornerback Darious Williams in 2022. All of them have gone on to become impact contributors for the Jaguars.

Having said that, Baalke needs to hit on draft picks more often. He must also be aggressive in the offseason to fill roster holes. Last year, he opted to take a conservative approach to address the pass rush rotation and the interior offensive line. His lack of urgency hurt the team, and both needs remain at the top of his to-do list in 2024.

As noted before, Baalke should be on a short leash in 2024. He needs to stop worrying about what others do and make sure the Jaguars load up on talent in the upcoming months.

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