Quote:As some others have pointed out:


 

1. The Monroe trade netted the Jags Colvin and Chris Smith, not Telvin Smith. More importantly, it was for 4th and 5th round picks. That Caldwell subsequently turned those picks into good players is irrelevant. A good starting NFL LT is worth a lot more than two third day picks. Caldwell took the first offer for Monroe, and no doubt could have gotten a better deal had he shopped Monroe to the other 30 teams.


 

2. Also, Monroe spoke of plans to stay in Jax, so there is no reason to believe he wouldn't have re-signed had he not been traded. Claiming that he would have been lost after 2013 is pure speculation, and the scant evidence points in the opposite direction.


 

3. While picking a better player at #2 would have been unlikely, there was good value in the middle of the first round and the Jags could have traded down. Miami traded up into the very next pick. There is no way you can convince me they wouldn't have been willing to give the same trade for the #2 pick that they made for the #3 pick. Using your list there were some very good players available at Miami's 12th slot (Richardson went 13th), and the extra #2 could have been Le'Veon Bell. If Caldwell was shrewd enough to see that the 2014 draft was going to be much better, he could easily have gotten Miami's 2014 #2 instead of the 2013 #2.


 

My impression of Caldwell so far is that he is very good at picking the best players, but makes no effort in contacting other teams for trades unless he wants to trade up. The Monroe trade talks were initiated by Baltimore. Whether he made the right coaching choice in Gus is still up in the air.