2020 NFL Draft: Examining the First Round Trade History of the Jaguars and What It Could Mean Now

Every NFL Draft offers the possibility of chaos ensuing due to blockbuster trades, with each one seemingly made under the cloak of secrecy to ensure one team is able to pull off a caper and nab the one prospect they have been enamored with.

The first night of the draft typically serves as the backdrop for the most thrilling of these trades, with more than 10 deals made in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and 2018 featuring trades for quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. While some deals are made in the days and weeks leading up to the draft, others are orchestrated while teams are on the clock.

2020 shouldn't be expected to be much different, and since the Jacksonville Jaguars have two first-round selections (ninth and 20th overall), they may be prime candidates to receive a phone call from teams willing to move up. If the Jaguars want to be aggressive, they also have the ammo now to be that team making the call.

First-round trades have played a big part in Jaguars' history since the team's first season in 1995, but recent history could give a clue to whether to expect the Jaguars to move around on the night of the draft. What does the evidence suggest?

1995

In the first-ever first-round draft trade the Jaguars participated in, the Kansas City Chiefs brokered a deal with Jacksonville to send the Jaguars the 19th overall selection in exchange for Jacksonville's first-round pick (31st) and Jacksonville's third- and fourth-round picks (97th and 134th) and a fourth-round pick in 1996. With the trade up, and subsequently the second draft selection in team history, the Jaguars drafted running back James Stewart.

1998

After backup quarterback Rob Johnson dazzled in reserve of an injured Mark Brunell in 1997, the Jaguars were able to trade the team's former fourth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for its first- and fourth-round picks (9th and 101st) in 1998. Johnson went on to sign a five-year, $25 million contract with the Bills, and the Jaguars took running backs Fred Taylor and Tavian Banks with the subsequent picks.

2007

The Jaguars' third-ever first-round trade would come almost 10 years after the second, and this trade would be the first and only time the Jaguars have ever moved down in the first round of a draft. The Jaguars dealt the first-round pick (17th) to the Denver Broncos' first-round (21st), third-round (86th), and sixth-round (198th) selections, a big coup for Jacksonville. Jacksonville went on to select safety Reggie Nelson with the 21st pick, while trading the 86th pick (which ended up being Marshal Yanda) to the Baltimore Ravens for a haul of later-round draft picks.

2008

Jacksonville and Baltimore once again traded with each other in 2008, this time as part of a major move up for Jacksonville. This trade, which resulted in the most amount of picks the Jaguars have ever moved up in a first-round trade, netted the Jaguars the eighth overall selection from Baltimore, which the Jaguars used to select defensive end Derrick Harvey. In return, the Ravens got Jacksonville's first-round selection (26th), two third-round picks (71st and 89th) and a fourth-round selection (125).

2011

In one of the most infamous trades in Jaguars' history, Jacksonville made an aggressive move up for a quarterback in 2011, only to eventually be snakebitten by the move. General manager Gene Smith traded the 16th overall pick and the team's second-round pick (49th overall) to Washington, moving up to 10th overall to select quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert was ultimately picked one selection before the Houston Texans picked defensive lineman J.J. Watt.

2012

The last time the Jaguars made a deal with a first-round pick, Gene Smith was still the general manager and Mike Mularkey was the head coach. In 2012, the Jaguars traded the seventh overall pick and a fourth-round pick (101st) to Tampa Bay in exchange for the fifth pick, which Jacksonville used to select wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

In short, the Jaguars have a less than positive track record when it comes to trading within the first-round. Taylor is, by far, the best player involved in any of these deals, and that trade wasn't even a trade in which Jacksonville had to move up or down the board; they simply traded a player.

Outside of Taylor, Jacksonville drafted some of the biggest draft busts in team history with picks that resulted from trades. Harvey, Gabbert, and Blackmon all hold infamous places in Jaguars' lore today, and the Jaguars were clearly on the losing end of each of these deals.

It is interesting to note though that the Jaguars haven't moved from their first-round spot since the days of Smith. Since Dave Caldwell became general manager in 2013, the Jaguars have stayed firm at each draft spot and have opted to take the best player available instead of trading up for a player or trading back for more picks.

Caldwell has been an aggressive general manager when it comes to trades outside of the first round, but the first night of the draft has typically been a quiet one for the Jaguars under his watch.

Of course, every draft is different and this year Caldwell has to retool a roster that has holes throughout the roster. He could either buck the trend and move back from one of his two first-round picks in favor of getting more picks to rebuild the team, or he could be aggressive with his draft capital and move up for a player he covets.

Recent history says the Jaguars are unlikely to move up or down, but this is new territory for Caldwell and the Jaguars due to the first-round picks. What Caldwell does with the two picks will help shape his legacy in Jacksonville, and that will be the case even more so if he strikes a deal on the first night.