As we noted last night, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell told fans at EverBank Field yesterday that suspended wide receiver Justin Blackmon will be back with the team at some point. However, that was far from the only noteworthy comment made by the general manager yesterday. John Oesher of Jaguars.com and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union passed along several other items from Caldwell, which we’ll round up right here:
- Caldwell identified the offensive and defensive lines as areas the team will focus on free agency, indicating that the 2014 class of FAs looks “pretty solid” at both positions. “I think it depends on guys who get signed before free agency and we just have to wait and see who’s available,” Caldwell said.
- After being very selective and patient in free agency a year ago, the Jaguars figure to be more active out of the gate this time around. Said Caldwell: “We need to target guys and be aggressive with that and then just let the market settle where opportunities present itself a week or two later.”
- Asked if there’s a league-wide consensus on the top few players in the draft, Caldwell indicated that the Jaguars have a pretty good idea of the top five players on their own board, but added that those names wouldn’t necessarily be the same for every NFL team.
- The Jaguars will be very open to moving down in the draft from No. 3 if the right opportunity presents itself.
- While he conceded that trading tackle Eugene Monroe early last season “stung a little bit,” Caldwell doesn’t regret the move, since it landed the team a pair of mid-round draft picks.
- According to Caldwell, a quarterback’s height isn’t a major factor in Jacksonville’s evaluations, with the team prioritizing characteristics like timing, accuracy and decision-making instead.