(08-06-2022, 03:27 PM)TheDuke007 Wrote: I'm not going to quote because it has gotten so long but will weigh in on the Caldwell/Baalke wide receiver conversation.

In regards Baalke never drafting a "stud wide receiver", this is true.  However, what is the sample size?  Yes, he clearly made a mistake drafting A.J. Jenkins at #30.  That's one mistake.  What else?  That was the only time he spent a first rounder on wide receiver.  He never spent a second rounder on wide receiver.  He never spent a third rounder on wide receiver.  All of his other drafted wide receivers were day 3 picks, so it seems a little unfair to criticize him for those picks not turning into studs, particularly if you are going to praise Caldwell.       

As for Caldwell, he hit on Allen Robinson, but otherwise I would consider his record mixed at best.  Below are his drafted wide receivers (in order of how high they were drafted):

Round 2 (#39 overall) - Marqise Lee - He only had 2,184 yards and 8 TD's over 5 years.  Yes, he had injuries, but even if you pro-rate out his seasons, he was never on pace for a 1,000 yard season even when he was at his best.  Considering he was a #39 overall selection, this was not a good pick.

Round 2 (#42 overall) - Laviska Shenault - He's only been in the league for 2 years, so it is still to be determined, but so far, does not look like a good pick.  He only has 1,219 yards and 5 TD's over two years and is known for making drops.  Also, keep in mind that in the very same draft, Caldwell passed on Justin Jefferson (Mel Kiper's best available) with the #20 pick in favor of K'Lavon Chaisson and then choosing to wait to take a wide receiver.

Round 2 (#61 overall) - Allen Robinson - Great pick.  No argument there.  However, if the issue is Caldwell's wide receiver scouting ability, keep in mind that he selected Marqise Lee over Allen Robinson with an earlier pick in the very same draft.

Round 2 (#61 overall) - D.J. Chark - He's been hampered by injuries, so he could be considered still to be determined.  Personally, I like him.  I think he might have upside.  He was a pro-bowl alternate one year.  However, NFL teams showed very little interest in him as an unrestricted free agent this off-season.  Despite record money being spent, he could only get a modest "prove it" type deal. 

Round 4 (#101 overall) - Ace Sanders - Out of the league with only 539 receiving yards.

Round 4 (#110 overall) Dede Westbrook - He had 1,788 receiving yards through 5 seasons, but only 68 last year.  He currently can't find a team that even wants him on their 90 man roster.  

Round 5 (#139 overall) - Rashad Greene - Out of the league with only 185 receiving yards.

Round 5 (#165 overall) - Collin Johnson - He made the team as a rookie, but was unable to make the Jaguars 53 man roster in year 2.  He's still active in NFL, but only has 377 receiving yards through two years.

Round 7 (#220 overall) - Neal Sterling - Out of the league with only 239 receiving yards.

That's not a great record.

Not a great record at all. None of those guys made it to 2nd contracts here as well. Which is telling. The best draft class he had was in 2016 when he landed Ramsey, Jack and Ngakoue. Again, none of them are here anymore, and the least impressive guy of that trio, Jack, earned a 2nd contract and never lived up to the hype or responsibilities of being able to truly man the mike. 

We knew this recent draft class was going to be top heavy at WR and we knew if you wanted an "X" receiver you were going to have to trade up or trade down to make the value fit. Or, trade for a proven player. This team is not a proven player away from making a run at the Superbowl, nor was it in any real position to fork over valuable draft picks to move back up for a receiver. 

I honestly liked Baalke's approach to this off season. For all intensive purposes. His draft class from last year may end up shaping up pretty well this year. You have four starters for sure in Lawrence, Campbell, Little & Cisco. Pretty decent haul there. Etienne is also back in the fold. If he ends up being "the guy" on this offense. That's one of the better draft classes this franchise has seen in a decade+. 

This year they clearly had a goal in mind of shoring up the pass protection, backfilling some key loses at Center and Guard. And, they did the best they could with what the market presented to them at WR and TE. 

The biggest thing they did was address every single aspect and level on defense. They shored up the front seven, they added another solid corner into the secondary and they're trying to clearly establish a divisional edge by shutting down the running game which is heavily featured within this division. The real burden of proof this year is going to fall on the same two jobs it always falls back on though the most in this sport. The Quarterback and the Headcoach. It's that simple. However, you can make their jobs a whole hell of a lot easier by keeping the points down on the scoreboard with a stout defense. We'll see though. 

We either have the next Sean Payton/Drew Brees or Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes in the making here with Trevor Lawrence & Doug Pederson, or, we don't. Time will tell. However, we should see significant strides this year. For better or worse.

---