Trading Up, Trevor Lawrence, and More: 5 Observations on Jaguars' Pre-Draft Press Conference

What did we learn from the Jaguars' pre-draft press conference?

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke speaks at a / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson held their annual pre-draft press conference on Thursday, offering a look into their insight on next week's NFL Draft.

With the topics ranging from the wide receiver and cornerback groups, Trevor Lawrence's impending contract extension, and the argument vs. moving up or down the board, Baalke and Pederson touched on quite a few important points.

So, what did we learn at the Miller Electric Center? We break it down below.

A Trevor Lawrence extension doesn't seem very far away

It has been no secret this offseason that the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence are working on a contract extension. It has seemingly been said over and over since the combine, and the Jaguars even spent the bulk of the 2023 offseason implying it would happen much sooner than later. And listening to Baalke speak about Lawrence's future extension, it sure doesn't seem like a deal is far away.

“Again, I try not to force anything. We’ve had some great talks and great conversations. I spoke with his agency again last night. We’re working, but you can’t force this stuff," Baalke said.

"I said the same thing with Josh’s [Allen] situation, I said it would take some time and it did. But we’re glad it got completed when it did so we could go into this offseason program knowing that’s behind us and we can move forward. We’re working at it, we’ll continue to work at it. Ownership is involved, obviously. Coach is involved; we’re going to put our best foot forward and hope to get something accomplished here.”

If it is at the point where ownership is involved, it sure doesn't seem like a deal is a year away. The smart money seems to be that Lawrence will sign a new deal before training camp, and perhaps even sooner than that.

Need was a prominent theme

It isn't hard to call the Jaguars a needs-based team in terms of drafting. They took Brenton Strange and Tank Bigsby last year because they thought they needed a versatile blocking tight end and a power running back to help the short-yardage game. They talk about taking best player available, obviously, but their actions have said otherwise in past drafts.

And on Thursday, the Jaguars reiterated this. Baalke talked about the delicate balance between drafting for need and drafting best player available, and himself admitted that the Jaguars would opt for taking the needs-based selection if two players are closely graded to one another. This would suggest the Jaguars would take a cornerback over a receiver if they had similar grades, for example..

"You try to find the best players, that’s what you try to do in the draft. We have some needs, obviously, that we need to address and the board’s got to fall the right way. Needs are paramount, but we’re going to stick with our formula and draft the best players available," Baalke said.

"“Well, most of the time, there isn’t that big of a separation between a need and another position. When in doubt, you’re going to take the need, if it’s close. If there’s a great distance between the two, you’ve got to weigh that out. Usually, what we’ve done in the past, is stick with the formula and take the best player available. Now again, if it’s close, we’re going to take the higher need.”

Does Trent Baalke want to move up the board?

The Jaguars have frequently been pinpointed as a team that might want to move up in the draft, whether for the draft's top cornerback or for one of the three elite wide receiver prospects. But is trading up truly in Trent Baalke's DNA? He has only done it with the Jaguars three times, taking Devin Lloyd, Jordan Smith, and Snoop Conner in the process.

“Well, if you talk to the analytics people, they’ll tell you never move up. Acquire as many darts as you can, keep moving back. You just got to look at the board and let the board speak," Baalke said.

"We spent 360-something days putting this thing together and to try to make something happen and force something to happen, sometimes backfires on you. You chase something and it doesn’t pan out, so you lose out there and then you lose out on the guy you would’ve picked and the two guys you would’ve picked with the other picks you gave up. If you’re going to move up, you better be right.”

But as of today, it is likely impossible for the Jaguars to even know the answer to the trade question. Baalke noted that he isn't a fan of making pre-draft trades, so any trade would have to happen on draft night as the Jaguars see the dust settle.

“Yeah, there’s a lot, as you know, that goes into it. We feel good about the group that’s there at different positions that we’re focused in on a little bit," Baalke said.

"But you don’t know what’s going to happen, you really aren’t going to know what we’re going to do until maybe the 12th or 13th pick. Then, we’ll look at the opportunity to potentially move up. If we get to 16 like we did last year, then somebody calls and there’s a chance to move back one or two, you just don’t know. You’re playing it on game day.”

Baalke likes depth of WR and OL classes

Two of the most hyped position groups in this year's draft class are undoubtedly the wide receiver and offensive line rooms. And while the Jaguars brought in wide receiver Gabe Davis in free agency and also added center Mitch Morse and re-signed Ezra Cleveland, these two position groups have also been frequently mocked to the Jaguars.

And while much of the attention on the wide receiver class has been on Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., Washington's Rome Odunze, and LSU's Malik Nabers, Baalke made it clear on Thursday that there is talent throughout the draft class.

“I think it’s a very good group of receivers, obviously. I think those three that everybody is talking about are really good football players. I think there’s some guys in the next wave that are really good football players, too," Baalke said.

"I think there’s good players like that all the way through the draft in that position. There’s going to be some later round guys that make a mark for themselves at some point in their careers in this league as well. It’s a good group, there’s a lot of variations of guys, guys strictly in the slot, guys strictly out on the perimeter. There are some guys that can move around the formations a little bit more. It’s a good group of receivers.”

The sentiment on the offensive line group was similar. This year's offensive line class has been deemed as one of the best in years, if not the best in a decade-plus. And while it remains to be seen whether the Jaguars invest in an offensive lineman early in the draft, it appears that wouldn't necessarily be a problem in the Jaguars' eyes.

"Yeah I think it's a very good group. Again, it's a group whether it's inside or outside. I think there's great value throughout the draft, I think you're going to find starters in the fourth, fifth round that are eventually going to find their way into starting," Baalke said. "There's always some guys that even go later than that. I was telling the group yesterday, the local workout guys, most people don't realize this, there's more guys in the [Pro] Football Hall of Fame that were undrafted free agents, than there are first round picks. So good players come from all levels of the draft and even the undrafted. I think we've just got to remember that it takes time. They've gotten be given time to develop.”

Tom Gamble is a valuable part of the front office

It was reported earlier this week that former Michigan Wolverines Director of Player Personnel Tom Gamble had re-joined the Jaguars front office for the second time, marking his third time working alongside Trent Baalke. And on Thursday, Baalke detailed the timeline on Gamble re-joining the team as well as the value of his presence.

“Tom and I have been together for a long time. We’ve been together on three different occasions. He understands the system that we have in terms of the evaluation process. He's a senior personnel executive, he’s in all of the draft meetings with us, in the free agent part of it with us. He’s a valued guy, he’s been around the league for a long time, he knows what a good football player looks like. He knows what our system is and what we do, so I’m just glad to have him back again," Baalke said.

"He got back here, I don’t know the exact date. He got back here sometime after the national championship. I think sometime in February is when he fully came on board with us.”

Perhaps most importantly, though, is Gamble's knowledge of prospects in this year's class after spending the last two years atop Michigan's player personnel department. Gamble is coming from the college game at the same time as several new Jaguars assistants are doing the same thing.

“That helps, and we’ve got some coaches that we’ve brought on board who are from the college game that have spent a lot of time with a lot of these guys in the recruiting process, whether they’ve coached directly or recruited them, that gives you some insight as well," Baalke said. "You just use every opportunity, every resource you have to try to figure these guys out.”