Good news, bad news as Jaguars training camp unfolds: Trent Baalke edition

HBO's Hard Knocks is always a welcome preseason delight for NFL fans starving for real football, and this year they received another treat; a series taking you inside the offseason for the New York Giants.
In addition to providing an insightful look at a process that has always been shrouded in mystery for observers, the series is also a reminder for fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars of what the 2024 offseason held.

Here's one of the many clips of Hard Knocks featuring the Giants that's gone viral.

The offseason is by far the main way in which an NFL team gets built. The vast majority of a team's roster is comprised using free agency and the draft. Sure, the team could pick up a depth signing from another team's roster cuts near the end of the preseason, and on rare occasions, a team might swing a pre-season trade, or in even rarer cases, an in-season trade prior to the deadline.

But, outside of highly unusual circumstances, the starters and primary backups for the 2024 Jaguars are already on the field working as training camp begins.

Most Jaguars fans appear to be upbeat, which is as it should be. If you're not optimistic at this stage, you're probably in for a rough few months. But a look back at the offseason reveals a good news/bad news situation.

The Jaguars finally found a franchise QB in Trevor Lawrence

It's good news that the Jags gave Trevor Lawrence a jillion dollars because it means they think he's a franchise quarterback. They obviously feel his dropoff last year that seemed to correlate with the teams' collapse was primarily due to injury.

Franchise quarterbacks are hard to find, and if the front office feels they have one, they should lock him up as quickly as possible. It seems Trent Baalke and Doug Pederson have found their man.

It's bad news, though, because the most obvious reason Trevor Lawrence couldn't stay healthy in the first place was the offensive line. The Jaguars had one of the worst offensive lines in football last year, and signs were already apparent by mid-November:

"Lawrence has the second-quickest time to throw in the league in 2023 (2.44 seconds, behind only Tua Tagovailoa) -- but on throws in which he has 2.5-4 seconds, he has been pressured on 43% of his dropbacks, which is the highest rate of any quarterback."

- Michael DiRocco, ESPN.com

Mitch Morse will give the Jaguars O-Line a massive boost

The good news is that the team seemed to acknowledge this glaring weakness by replacing starting center Luke Fortner with free-agent veteran Mitch Morse. Morse should be a big upgrade in the middle of the line. It's also good news that Trent Baalke wasn't too stubborn to move on from a third-round draft pick in Fortner. A lot of general managers feel compelled to stick with bad decisions.

It's bad news that replacing Luke Fortner is all they did for the starting line. Yes, Fortner was very bad. But, by only addressing the starting center position, the Jags have said the blocking struggles were essentially all his fault. So, having one of the worst pass-blocking and run-blocking lines in the league comes down to one player? Really?

The wide receiver corps got reinforcements in the offseason

The good news is that Mitch Morse wasn't the only likely major contributor added to the offense. The Jags also added a bevy of free agents including Devin Duvernay and Gabe Davis among others, and drafted Brian Thomas Jr in the first round. The three new additions to the receiving corps look to boost big plays in 2024.

The bad news is that Duvernay, Davis, and Thomas were necessary additions due to the losses of Calvin Ridley, Zay Jones, and Jamal Agnew. Will all this turnover amount to a net gain, net loss, or break even proposition for the Jags' receiving room in 2024?

It's impossible to say, for now. But the decision not to break the bank for Ridley could turn out to be a good news/bad news situation in and of itself because...

Trent Baalke has locked up several Jaguars cornerstones

The good news is that Trent Baalke has managed the cap in such a way that the team was able to lock up a number of players long-term. Trevor Lawrence wasn't the only Jags veteran extended this offseason. The Jags opened their checkbook for both Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell, and still have money available to extend other "core players" whose contracts are running out.

The bad news is that all of these core players have only managed an 18-16 record over the past two regular seasons. While an overall winning record is nothing to sneeze at in Jacksonville given the franchise's history, fans will certainly expect better given the raises being handed out.

The good news is that they won't have to do it alone. The Jags weren't done with adding Mitch Morse and a few receivers on offense. The defense will receive a number of upgrades in 2024. In addition to free agents Arik Armstead, Darnell Savage, Trevis Gipson and Ronald Darby, Jags second-round pick Maason Smith should contribute in a depth capacity in 2024. Keep an eye on rookie Jarrion Jones, who was a great value in the third round and could challenge for significant playing time.

Whether you view all of these developments as good or bad is in the eye of the beholder. But, the final good news/bad news reminder is that it was all accomplished by the polarizing Trent Baalke. The general manager is much maligned by the fanbase, and while they'll praise him when he does well, the fans will also let him have it when his decisions go south.

If Hard Knocks reveals anything, it's that the person helming the high-pressure position of general manager is the most important person in the building when it comes to constructing an NFL team. It's his baby. And for Jacksonville, that means you are rooting like crazy for Trent Baalke to succeed.

More Jaguars analysis here: