New Jacksonville Jaguars Regime Plans On Building Through Draft

There is a great chance that when NFL free agency rolls around in March, Jacksonville Jaguars fans will be disappointed with the results.

New Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell has stated that he wants to build his team through the draft and take a more cautious approach to free agency than he predecessor Gene Smith did. Smith spent a bunch of money on free agents the past two seasons in a desperate attempt to improve the roster, but instead got far less then what he paid for, as the Jaguars have only managed to win seven games over the last two seasons. This is not to say that Caldwell plans to avoid free agency all together.

“We’re going to be a draft-driven team. I anticipate building through the draft…and supplement where we need to in terms of getting some depth through free agency.’’

Caldwell believes that a team is more likely to have sustainable success over a long period of time if they are built from the draft. Under Caldwell, the Jaguars are going to use free agency as a supplemental means of adding depth and they are not going to go out into the market looking to make a splash. This is likely going to infuriate Jaguars fans, but we have seen the past two seasons that making a lot of noise in free agency does not lead to great success on the field.

With that being said, Caldwell and the Jaguars have several decisions to make on their own players who are scheduled to become free agents this offseason. The Jaguars defense could have a significantly different appearance next season if cornerback Derek Cox, linebacker Daryl Smith and tackle Terrance Knighton are elsewhere, but there is a very real possibility that none are retained.

Jaguars fans should not get too attached to any players currently on the roster because it figures to look much younger in 2013.