(08-06-2022, 09:10 AM)flgatorsandjags Wrote:

(08-06-2022, 08:25 AM)Bullseye Wrote: If you buy the assumption that WRs are a dime a dozen, in theory we SHOULD be able to do better than that.

But consider:

1.  Caldwell also managed to get Hurns as an UDFA.  Hurns was better than any of the guys below looking at their overall careers and skill sets.

2.  In the 21 non Caldwell yerars of this franchise's history, we bever drafted ANY Pro bowl WRs.  We lucked out and got Jimmy Smith as a street free agent.  We got Keenan McCardell as a FA from Cleveland after that franchise imploded.  Outside of Caldwell, this franchise has not demonstrated ANY ability whatsoever to draft anything close to a stud WR.  The closest we've come was Justin Blackmon, and we know how spectacularly that backfired.  After him?  Ernest Wilford was the best we've done.  Soward?  Reggie Williams?  Matt Jones?!?  Bzzzt!  Example after example of draft day failure at the position.

3.  Throughout his entire career as a GM, including his SF days, Baalke has not proven able to identify/draft a stud WR.  In fact, he supposedly came from the Parcells/Belichick/Gerge Young tree.  If so, those guys have been unable to draft a good WR dating back to the 1980s.

Given this franchise's history, there is no reason for your confidence we can do better at the position.

I don't think they are a dime a dozen but it is one of the easiest positions to fix.  Just look at all the great WRs Dave passed on when he was GM.

1. I don't give Dave much credit for Hurns because he passed him up in every round tha year and just got lucky that nobody drafted him and that Hurns chose to come to Jax

2. Oh I know the history of this franchise and the WR position.  Just because we have been horrible at draftiing in that department before Dave got there doesn't make Dave any good.  Maybe you don't think we can do better than Dave but I do. 

3. What this franchise has done In the past is irrelevant to me, it's a new era.  Much more WRs are coming into the league making an impact and setting records as rookies, yards records, catch records etc.  Dave passed on so many great WRs when they were clearly BPA but he felt he had a bigger need at a different position so he went a different route.  I think we can do better than Dave and next year I think is the year we take a WR high,  In the first or 2nd

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Look at where the team was when Caldwell took over.  The team had so many different needs and so few draft picks, he couldn't help but to pass up a great player, irrespective of position.  In 1989, Dallas drafted Troy Aikman-a great player.  In doing so, they passed up on great players Derrick Thomas, Barry Sanders, and Deion Sanders. Did that mean they didn't think those were great players?  Did that mean they weren't capable of identifying great platers?   Passing up on several great WRs in the absence of a larger context is not conclusive of anything.

1.  As for not giving credit for Hurns, keep in mind that Caldwell never had to pursue/sign Hurns as an UDFA.  He could have prusued and signed any number of less talented players.  Furthermore, Hurns was better than just about all of the receivers who the team actually drafted.  Yes, he deserves credit for Hurns.  But even assumng you don't give credit for Hurns, it still doesn't make the case this team has proven itself capable of drafting quality WRs outside of Caldwell.

2.  For the purposes of this discussion, I am not advancing the theory that Caldwell was any good.  I am advancing the theory that it's not as easy for this organization to draft a quality WR as you assert.  If you completely remove Caldwell from the occasion, or reflexively put Caldwell's picks in the worst possible light, this franchise has not otherwise proven competent at identifying talent at the WR position.

3.  There are so many internal contradictions in your argument here I'm not sure what to make of it.  You say the Jaguars' past at drafting WR is irrelevant to you, yet two sentences later, go into this litany of bypassed WRs under Caldwell.  Furthermore, if all you are talking about is the present and future, it still doesn't establish how this team is able to surpass the team's ability to draft a WR under Caldwell.  Having a bunch of WRs come into the league is moot if the team is unable to identify those players or otherwise unwilling to draft them when they can.  Looking from the present forward, Baalke is this team's GM.  Did he draft any WRs during his two year tenure as GM here?  Is there any indication he is able to identify quality WRs going forward?

2.

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