Story by
Wiping the slate: Jacksonville Jaguars final cuts mean half the Trent Baalke draftees are gone
- Story by
- Wiping the slate: Jacksonville Jaguars final cuts mean half the Trent Baalke draftees are gone
Former Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke batted .500 over four years in the NFL Draft.
That's not nearly good enough to build an NFL roster capable of contending for the Super Bowl.
Advertisement
If there was one storyline to the Jaguars' final 53-man roster announced late on Aug. 26, it was that much of the vestiges of the Baalke era as the Jaguars general manager were scrubbed from the first roster built on the watch of General Manager James Gladstone , Executive Vice-President for Football Operations Tony Boselli and coach Liam Coen .
Jacksonville Jaguars fourth-year linebacker Chad Muma was released by the team on Aug. 26, one of four players from the 2022 draft class to be cut in the last two years.
Linebacker Chad Muma , defensive tackle Tyler Lacy , offensive tackle Javon Foster , defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson , cornerback De'Antre Prince and edge rusher Myles Coles were among the cuts, which means 19 of the 38 players Baalke drafted during the time he was the team's general manager (2021-2024) are no longer with the team.
That includes players who left via free agency, safety Ande Cisco and tight end Luke Farrell . In addition, offensive guard Cooper Hodges of Macclenny was cut after two devastating knee injuries in two years and center Luke Fortner was traded to New Orleans for defensive tackle Khalen Saunders Sr.
Advertisement
Four of the nine players Baalke drafted in 2024 are gone, with only wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (first round), defensive tackle Maason Smith (second), cornerback Jarrian Jones (third) and kicker Cam Little (sixth) remaining.
Baalke hit on early picks
Baalke didn't whiff on every pick. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne were sound first-round picks in 2021, as were cornerback Tyson Campbell and offensive tackle Walker Little in the second round that year.
The case can be made that the Jaguars could have traded down a few spots in 2022 and still landed edge rusher Travon Walker, and some additional draft capital. However, Walker has played well and been a solid locker-room guy.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
The debate on the value of trading up to get Devin Lloyd at the back end of the first round that year continues to rage and offensive tackle Anton Harrison was the best of the late first-round choices in 2023, given the team's needs.
Advertisement
Thomas Jr., more than panned out as a 2024 first-round pick and the jury is still out on second-round pick Maason Smith.
Brenton Strange shows all the signs of being worthy of his selection in the second round in 2023. Running back Tank Bigsby (2023) and cornerback Jarrian Jones (2024) have turned into solid third-round selections.
All Baalke draftees cut were in lower rounds
The most devastating aspect of Baalke's personnel decisions came after the third round.
The Jaguars had 25 third round and below picks under Baalke and only six are still on the team: Cornerback Montaric Brown (seventh round, 2022), linebacker Yasir Abdullah (fifth round, 2023), safety Antonio Johnson (fifth round, 2023), wide receiver Parker Washington (sixth round, 2023), cornerback Christian Braswell (sixth round, 2023) and Little.
Trent Baalke was fired as the Jacksonville Jaguars general manager in January of 2025.
To this day, Little has made the most extensive contributions, setting a Jaguars rookie record for scoring in 2024. Washington had a solid camp and Johnson and Braswell showed signs of improving under the new defensive staff.
Advertisement
Super Bowl teams show how it's done
The two Super Bowl teams in 2024 , the champion Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City are examples of how winning rosters are built.
Over the same four-year span that Baalke missed on half of his draft picks in Jacksonville, the Eagles have kept 19 of 30 draft picks (.633), and Kansas City has kept 21 of 30 (.700).
Six of the Eagles' nine picks and five of the Chiefs ' seven picks in 2024 are still with the team. Over the last three years, when the Jaguars kept only six of 19 picks from the third through the seventh rounds, Philadelphia was retaining 10 of 21 and Kansas City 12 of 20.
Advertisement
Baalke shouldn't get all the blame
Former Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell and Vice-President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin aren't off the hook, especially in the 2018 and 2019 drafts (when Caldwell and Coughlin worked together) and 2020 (when Caldwell had the final authority.
Only three players remain on the team from that time period, one from each draft: punter Logan Cooke (seventh round, 2018), defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (first round, 2019) and defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton (third round, 2020).
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) is the only player remaining on the team from the 2019 NFL draft.
The 2020 draft was especially non-productive. Aside from Hamilton's steady play and solid special-teams work from safety Daniel Thomas and linebacker Shaq Quarterman, no one else made an impact.
Advertisement
That included the two first-round picks, cornerback C.J. Henderson and defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson , who were abject busts.
Jaguars also let players get away
Aside from Hines-Allen and some magic moments by quarterback Gardner Minshew , the 2019 draft class is better known for two players the Jaguars gave up on, linebacker Quincy Williams and tight end Josh Oliver .
Williams was cut by Urban Meyer in 2021 after training camp and was picked up by the Jets . He won a starting job and over the last four seasons has averaged 115 tackles, 12.5 for losses.
Oliver, who was traded by Baalke in the spring of 2021 has been serviceable for Baltimore and Minnesota with 67 receptions for 686 yards and seven touchdowns in four seasons.
Advertisement
Other players who have been picked up by other teams are guard Ben Bartch (fourth round, 2020), who is starting for the San Francisco 49ers ; Farrell (fifth round, 2021), who is backing up George Kittle for the Niners; and Cisco, now with the New York Jets.
Jaguars' 2025 draft class looks promising
Based on training camp and preseason games, the first draft class under the collaboration of Gladstone, Coen and Boselli appears solid.
Overall No. 2 pick Travis Hunter has been brought along slowly, especially after an upper-body injury that kept him out of the last two preseason games, but he's flashed enough to make the Jaguars giddy about his possibilities on offense and defense.
Advertisement
None of the other rookies are projected to start, 10 days from the opening game Sept. 7 at home against the Carolina Panthers but offensive guard Wyatt Milum may push for playing time when he heals from an injury and linebacker Jack Kiser and safety Rayuan Lane III look to be solid special teams players.
Running backs Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr., have had good moments and Jonah Monheim played so well backing up free-agent signee Robert Hainsey at center that the Jaguars felt good about dealing Fortner to the Saints.
Edge rusher Jalen McLeod could return from the injured reserve list later in the season. Safety Caleb Ransaw is out for the season. But they were having good camps before their injuries and likely would have played significant roles for the 2025 team.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars have parted ways with half of players drafted by Trent Baalke
