Dave Caldwell Has Been Far From Perfect, but Recent Moves and Future Ones Could Save Him

Dave Caldwell has had far from a stellar tenure for the Jaguars but recent roster moves and future ones could save his job.

​By Jordan de Lugo

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Dave Caldwell missed on his entire first draft class.

Dave Caldwell missed on his first coach.

Dave Caldwell drafted a QB with the third overall pick in 2014 that has in three years thrown 51 Interceptions and fumbled the ball 29 times. 

Every player from Dave Caldwell's 2014 free agent class is no longer with the Jaguars. 

All but one player from Dave Caldwell's 2015 free agent class are no longer with the Jaguars. 

The Jaguars record since Dave Caldwell was hired to be their General Manager is 15-50. 

Needless to say Dave Caldwell has been far from perfect as the GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars. But some recent hits in free agency and the draft combined with some late round gems and what the Jaguars could achieve in the 2018 NFL draft might just save Dave Caldwell his job. 

Despite his spotty track record there's been no speculation or suggestion that Dave Caldwell's job is in jeopardy. But this is a pivotal year for Caldwell and his first round picks. 2013 first round pick Luke Joeckel is already gone, but Caldwell's 2014 and 2015 first round picks enter what could be career defining seasons. Blake Bortles need to improve by leaps and bounds from his 2016 performance while 2015 first round pick Dante Fowler needs to improve on his four sack debut in 2016 (he missed all of 2015 with a knee injury). 

Even if Bortles and Fowler fail to improve this season Caldwell could manage to stick around.

His tenure has seen some bright spots in terms of talent acquisition. He's been able to put together one of the best receiving cores in all of football via the draft and undrafted free agency.

In the 2017 NFL Draft Caldwell added Leonard Fournette who is perhaps the most talented running back to enter the NFL since Adrian Peterson.

He's put together perhaps the most complete secondary in the entire NFL by way of the draft and free agency. Speaking of defense the Jaguars appear to be loaded at nearly every position on the defensive side of the ball - Caldwell is largely to thank for that. 

So with this highly talented defense and an offense that has seemingly every piece to the puzzle save a couple of positions on the offensive line and a solid QB the Jaguars should easily be competitive and win more games than they have in seasons past. Still, if Bortles doesn't improve greatly they could be behind the eight ball in terms of wins in 2017, which would certainly put Caldwell on the hot seat.

If Bortles proves to not be the QB Dave Caldwell thought he was when he selected him with the 3rd overall pick in 2014 then the Jags will need to turn to the draft (again) to solve their QB problem. Luckily for Dave Caldwell the 2018 NFL Draft appears to be absolutely loaded at the quarterback position. 

If Dave Caldwell's newly assembled defense ends up being the real deal and the offensive weapons look competent this season then the Jaguars GM could be spared and in turn be allowed to draft one more QB to try and right the ship for the Jags. 

There's anywhere from three to maybe five or six QBs that could end up being first round picks in 2018. Sam Darold of USC is widely viewed as the best, but cross town rival Josh Rosen of UCLA is hot on his heels and the star QB from Wyoming Josh Allen could also go somewhere at the top of the draft. Several other QBs including Mason Rudolph, Luke Falk, DeAndre Francois, and Lamar Jackson could emerge as first round talents. 

This is all speculative, but there's certainly reason to believe that even if Bortles fails this year that Caldwell could stick around and get the QB that Duval deserves in the 2018 Draft. If  Bortles isn't that answer and Caldwell is allowed to select a new QB of the future next year then he may actually be remembered fondly by Jaguar fans when everything is said and done, despite a historically poor first four years in terms of wins and losses.