Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke talk Jaguars draft additions

With day one of 2024 NFL Draft now completed, the Jaguars head coach and general manager both spoke with the media to provide fans some insight into the trades and players added. Here’s everything you need to know.

Day one of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books and the Jacksonville Jaguars are one step closer to a finalized roster. Head Coach Doug Pederson and General Manager Trent Baalke spoke with the media to provide additional insight and background into the draft additions.

This article will be updated after each day of the draft, with the additional day two and three presser takeaways to be added. Here’s everything you need to know.

Day One Media Availability:

Trading Up

With fans and national media initially expecting the team to be in the mix to potentially trade into the top 10 this draft, the question of trading up was asked of General Manager Trent Baalke early. He unsurprisingly replied that the cost of trading into the top 10 was too steep.

“We had a good beat on where those guys (top three WRs) were going to go, and they pretty much went where we felt like they were going to go. The price to move up into that territory would’ve been really steep. It wasn’t an option, if one of them would’ve slipped a little further, maybe you do it. We just didn’t feel they were going to get into our range and they didn’t get into our range.”

Local favorite Washington WR Rome Odunze was drafted at pick number nine, as expected, by the Chicago Bears. However, speaking of trading up, it seems the team may have been attempting to trade back into the backend of the first round, from pick 48 for a target. When asked about this Baalke coyly stated,

“We may have.”

However, upon follow up he provided more insight.

“We got here at the end of the draft so we may have. Read into that what you want.”

The final pick of the first round was traded away by the Buffalo Bills to the Carolina Panthers, who selected South Carolina WR Xavier Legette at 32. Presumably, the Panthers trade package was either much better or the Bills had no interest in moving all the way back to pick 48 (instead of moving one pick back).

Trading Down

Later, Baalke discussed the thought process that went into trading back with the Minnesota Vikings.

“You go into it and I’ve always said you listen to the board. When we were sitting around pick 15 and 16, we started getting some calls. The board looked good, we were in good shape with the needs that we had and the players we had targeted, taking a look at the teams that were between 17 and 23, what their needs were. We just felt the board was solid, it was well worth picking up three extra picks. Really, getting one of the players that we coveted in the draft.”

The Jaguars traded pick 17 in the first round to the Vikings for picks 167 (2024 fifth round pick), a 2025 third round pick, and a 2025 fourth round pick. Honestly? That’s a Trade-back Trent Masterclass in my opinion. Just don’t tell Baalke that.

”No, I think it was a fair trade. I have a lot of respect for Kwesi [Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensaf] and he’s one of the bright minds in this business when it comes to numbers and analytics and everything else. He’s not going to get fleeced. He did a good job. They got the player they wanted and they gave us what they were willing to give up. It’s not about fleecing one another. No one is going to get one over on another one, it’s just what are they willing to give and are you willing to accept it? Its as simple as that.”

In significantly less words, yea. Baalke fleeced Minnesota.

Baalke continued,

“When we got the call to move back to 23, he [Head Coach Doug Pederson] looked at me, I looked at him, we said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ It was kind of like last year.”

As a cherry on top of the sundae, Trent still got his guy, as he explained.

“He [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] was going to be the pick at 17. Like we said, there were other players involved and we just felt the way the board looked and where the needs were, the teams in between us, we felt we had a chance. There’s risk, there’s reward. You make the move back, but we felt we were going to get a really good football player that we had high on our board with the move back. Fortunate that Brian was still there.”

Masterclass, if true.

Consistent, Explosive Plays

With the offseason loss of receiver Calvin Ridley to the Tennessee Titans, the Jaguars offense was in need of an infusion of speed and explosive plays, as explained by Coach Pederson.

“You’re adding a guy that has an element of speed that we haven’t had probably since Calvin [WR Calvin Ridley] last year. Once we get him in here too, and really get our hands on him, get him into the playbook in a couple of weeks and really see how we can use him. I think it can only be a great asset for us on offense to not only open up the field, but I think open up some other elements of the offense.”

Baalke later added onto that statement.

“I think throughout the process, coach has been a big supporter from day one when he put on the film. He’s a guy that our scouts identified early in the process. This isn’t a guy that climbed up the board late, he’s always been somebody that we had a lot of appreciation for his skillset. Like coach mentioned earlier, he’s a guy that brings a skillset that we haven’t necessarily had to the level that he brings in terms of he’s 6’027”, 209 pounds and he runs a sub 4.4, mid 4.3. He’s got the production to back it up. I think 22 targets over 20 yards and 15 of them ended up in touchdowns and a 17-plus average. We’re just looking forward to getting him in here, getting our hands on him and going to work.”

This does make Brian Thomas Jr slightly different from the previous receiver who held his role, as Ridley was also a very fast receiver but inconsistent in capitalizing on those explosive play opportunities. The staff believes that in time, BTJ can have a similar, if not larger impact on the offense while getting younger and cheaper. Time will tell if that rings true.

Don’t forget to return to this page tomorrow for our takeaways from the front office’s day two media availability.