NFL Top 100 rankings give new spin on ex-Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell's biggest flaw

The Jacksonville Jaguars moved on from general manager Dave Caldwell late in 2020 because he wasn't able to consistently put together a well-rounded roster. Looking back, though, identifying talent wasn't his biggest weakness. For proof, three of the players he drafted during his stint with the Jags made the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2024 list.

As Mark Long of the Associated Press pointed out, Caldwell drafted three Jaguars players who popped up in the top 36 spots in the NFL's ranking. They were linebacker Quincy Williams, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen. Williams and Ramsey are no longer in Jacksonville, and therein lies the issue: He knew talent when he saw it but wasn't able to keep it from leaving.

Both Williams and Ramsey are All-Pros but neither played for Jacksonville for more than four seasons. The former was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two first-round selections, along with a fourth-rounder a few games into the 2019 season despite being one of their top defenders. The latter was waived in 2021 and was promptly claimed by the New York Jets.

You could make the case that teams often let talented players walk but Williams and Ramsey weren't exceptions. They were the norm. During his tenure at the helm of the front office, Campbell routinely struggled to keep the team's best players. In fact, he actively tried to shop them in exchange for future assets.

Like Ramsey, Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell were cornerstones but instead of giving them new deals, Caldwell sent them packing. He also attempted to trade running back Leonard Fournette in 2020 but released him when he found no suitors. However you look at it, that's not a sustainable way to build a team.

In Caldwell's defense, he did give extensions to linebacker Myles Jack and center Brandon Linder but they were outliers.

Dave Caldwell's strategy to build the Jaguars failed miserably

In retrospect, Caldwell's 2019 draft class was strong. Defensive end Josh Hines-Allen remains on the team and is a franchise building block. On the other hand, the Jaguar got four serviceable seasons out of right tackle Jawaan Taylor, their second-round while third-round pick Josh Oliver has carved a niche as a blocker for the Minnesota Vikings. Quincy Wiliams was their other third-round pick.

On top of that, sixth-round selection Gardner Minshew has developed into a viable if unimpressive NFL starter. All things considered, that was a pretty good haul.

Add the fact that Caldwell had a knack for uncovering undrafted free agents, such as running back James Robinson, safety Andrew Wingard, cornerback Tre Herndon, and safety Jarrod Wilson, and he wasn't as bad as his track record suggests. Then again, the 2020 draft exposed his strategy.

As dependable as Caldwell was at finding talent, he also had several misses in both free agency and the draft. Missing on players like Taven Bryan, K'Lavon Chaisson, and C.J. Henderson while shipping whatever core contributors the Jaguars had left the roster devoid of talent. The fact that he chose to make minimal acquisitions in free agency didn't help matters.

It's a conjuncture but perhaps Caldwell wanted to stockpile picks and cap space to use them 2021. However, his approach was one of the reasons Jacksonville went 1-15. Maybe he would've gotten the benefit of the doubt if the Jaguars had a good record under his watch, but it's hard to give someone a chance when they haven't had much success.

The bottom line is that Dave Caldwell did have a few bright spots during his stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars general manager. The Top 100 Players of 2024 is a reminder of that. The problem was that he couldn't keep players and his misses were too many to overcome.

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