(02-01-2024, 08:45 AM)Mikey Wrote:

(01-31-2024, 03:48 PM)NYC4jags Wrote: Actually he has shown he can draft talent. He just hasn't done it consistently enough to please the masses.

2021 saw Lawrence, ETN, Campbell, Cisco and Little come aboard. Little has been hot and cold but has also never had a clear role throughout an offseason and has had injuries too often. Damn near everyone thought the pick was a steal - minus a few who were off put by injury concern

2022 saw Walker and Lloyd picked early - a miss on Fortner - and Muma and Brown look to have a future in Jax or elsewhere. Muma played a significant role in our 2022 season not going to total garbage when Lloyd was in and out of the lineup with injury and rookie struggles. Brown showed he is quality depth at DB that we previously lacked. 

2023 is still a total crapshoot but he killed it trading down for an awesome OT, found good depth players and maybe a starting DB in the 5th and 6th rounds. Just gotta find out if the questionable picks in rounds 2-4 pan out or not. Travon Walker is living breathing proof that it can still happen after his second year. So we don't get to judge the value of Strange/Bigsby/Miller even if I personally hate the selections from a value perspective. I din't like the ETN pick either because of positional value, but there is no questioning the pick's current value to the team.

I'd say the biggest issues in his draft have nothing to do at all with evaluation and more to do with positional value and addressing needs efficiently with the capital available.

He just stared into a camera and microphone and repeatedly said we have to get bigger and stronger in the trenches.
He's going to have a chance to bring in a couple of free agents and several draft picks that represent that change we all have clamored for. 

I give him a 65/35 chance of getting it right, Which is what I'd probably give all but the few obviously elite GMs. 
Free agency means overpaying for guys who may or may not show up motivated and the draft is a gamble at damn near every pick, so... he's either gonna fix some obvious problems or give Khan undeniable reasons to move on. 

Pretty simple to me. 
Just let the guy fix the lines or hang himself. 
Saying he's incapable is disingenuous given his recent history IMO. 
He helped pull this team out of the absolute gutter and into the playoffs.

I don't think it is impossible for the Jags to go into September with upgrades at 2 interior OL positions, someone who gets better push not he IDL, and a depth edge player. Wouldn't shock me at all if Baalke pulled that off. How well he pulls it off remains to be seen. And if he fails to address those issues - we'll know he's setting himself up for - sorry Trekkies - the Wrath of Khan. 

If two of the guys he picked in rounds 2-4 last year turn out to be good, he's essentially added four starters or meaningful role players in each draft. I'm sorry, but that is a far [BLEEP] cry from "crap evaluator."

wasted keystrokes.

The whole "Baalke can't draft" or "Torn ACL, that'll be our first rounder" derpitude is just the new tarp joke. Tired, uninformed, and absolutely not going to change their mind.