There's no doubt that general manager Dave Caldwell was dreadful during his stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sure, he had a few hits, but not nearly enough to make up for his many misses. And when he did find talented players, he routinely got rid of them. By 2020, he had left the roster so devoid of talent that the organization had no choice but to kick him to the curb.
Just recently, Caldwell and the Jags were scrutinized for drafting C.J. Henderson over cornerback AJ Terrell and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs. However, that was far from the only mistake that year or the one before.
Ryan Smith of Pro Football Focus drew up a list of 10 NFL veterans who are still playing at a high level, and a pair of former Jaguars popped up: Defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Caldwell traded them in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Regarding Ramsey, Smith says that he's no longer a top-5 cornerback in the NFL but is still playing a high level, "He ranked 10th out of 116 qualifying cornerbacks in PFF overall grade (76.9), eighth in PFF run-defense grade (85.7) and 25th in PFF advanced coverage grade, allowing two touchdowns across 607 coverage snaps."
On the other hand, Smith says that Campbell is still going strong ahead of 2025. Here's the skinny.
"The Dolphins were one of the league's biggest disappointments last year, starting the season 2-6, but Campbell still played in all 17 games, ranking first among interior defenders with an 85.9 PFF run-defense grade," Smith wrote.
Granted, Ramsey didn't make things easy when he requested a contract extension, but trading him felt excessive. As the adult in the room, Caldwell, along with then-vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, didn't manage the situation well. Instead of finding common ground with the former Florida Seminole, they antagonized him throughout the process.
Since getting traded, Ramsey has earned four Pro Bowl nods and two All-Pro designations. On the other hand, trading Campbell didn't make sense. Aside from not waiting to pay him, there was no reason not to keep him around.
Yet, Caldwell was more interested in hoarding draft picks than putting together a good roster. Like Ramsey, he's gone on to have a productive career, logging 22.5 sacks. Back in 2023, the Mayor discussed a potential reunion with the Jags, but it didn't come to fruition.
Dave Caldwell put together a pretty good Jaguars team only to dismantle it
Dave Caldwell got off to a rough start with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Aside from safety Johnathan Cyprien, his first draft class in 2023 left much to be desired. Left tackle Luke Joeckel, the second overall pick that year, was a colossal bust, and they didn't get much production out of their rest of the haul.
Things got a bit better in the following years, as Caldwell assembled a defense stacked with talent. However, he would either let most of the team's building blocks walk or trade them. By 2020, the team that reached the AFC Championship was gone. It's worth noting that the offense wasn't as loaded, but still had a few pieces. Allen Robinson, Leonard Fournette were certainly worth keeping, but Caldwell didn't think they deserved to get paid.
Fast forward to 2025, and two players Dave Caldwell didn't want to pay are still around, proving that moving on from them was a baffling mistake.