Are There Any Jaguars Who Could Garner Trade Interest?
With just a few weeks ahead of the 2022 training camp opening for the Jacksonville Jaguars, there are questions abound about how the Jaguars can stock their roster.
But what about the question of how the Jaguars can restock their previously hefty haul of draft ammo?
The Jaguars have had some of the most draft picks of any team in the NFL over the last three seasons as a result of a long tradition of trading veterans on large contracts for cheap draft picks, along with the departures of stars like Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue.
But are there any players on the roster today who could garner any trade interest before Week 1? Which players on the roster make the most sense for other teams to sniff around and do their homework on? We break down five names we believe make sense below.
OLB K'Lavon Chaisson
When a player is selected at No. 20 overall, there are bound to be major expectations. The expectations grew even more for K'Lavon Chaisson when it was made clear the Jaguars were drafting him to replace Ngakoue, who was a Pro Bowl talent and one of the best young players in franchise history. But through two years, those gaudy and perhaps unfair expectations haven't been met, in part due to Chaisson being misplaced in the Jaguars' defensive schemes and in part due to him simply not producing.
Chaisson has appeared in 31 games (11 starts) over the last two years, playing 952 defensive snaps -- including 51% of the defensive snaps as a rookie and 39% last year. In that span, he has recorded two sacks, six tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits. Those are numbers you clearly wouldn't expect from a first-rounder, but Chaisson has faced poor scheme fit and poor coaching in his first two seasons.
It is likely there are a host of other teams who had high first-round grades on Chaisson just two years ago. While the Jaguars may need the edge depth after Jordan Smith's injury, other teams could sell themselves on their evaluation of Chaisson coming out of college and determine him to be a player worth taking a roll of the dice on.
RT Jawaan Taylor
The Jaguars have two right tackles vying for a starting spot between 2019 second-rounder Jawaan Taylor and 2021 second-rounder Walker Little. But if there was one player who would make the most sense for teams to explore on the trade market, it would be Taylor thanks to his proven durability and experience.
Taylor, who the Jaguars traded up to select in the 2019 NFL Draft, has started all 49 games in his career and has been a Day 1 starter three years running. He has had penalty issues, but he likely would have been a first round pick a few years ago had it not been for pre-draft medicals. There will still be teams and offensive line coaches who are high on Taylor, and his durability only helps his case.
IDL Jay Tufele
A surprise name on this list, 2021 fourth-rounder Jay Tufele is included for a few reasons. One, he is still a young and developing defensive lineman after opting out of the 2020 college season and then playing just 54 snaps last season as a rookie. He has a high ceiling that can still be reached with the right coaching, so some defensive line coaches make see him as a starter ready to be molded.
Another reason Tufele could have his name looked at is the fact the Jaguars are fairly deep along the interior defensive line, with Foley Fatukasi, Roy Robertson-Harris, Adam Gotsis, Malcom Brown, and DaVon Hamilton all playing key roles. Teams could see Tufele potentially buried on the depth chart and see value.
WR Laviska Shenault
It would be smart for wide receiver-needy teams to call the Jaguars and ask what they would want for Laviska Shenault, even if sources have indicated to Jaguar Report since the offseason that the Jaguars were not openly shopping Shenault. The Jaguars obviously brought the hypothetical onto themselves this offseason when they signed Zay Jones and Christian Kirk to be starters, placing Shenault at the No. 4 receiver spot and making him seemingly more available than he ever has been before. The issue, of course, is the Jaguars are not completely out on the idea of Shenault being an impactful and key piece of the offense.
Shenault's career started off strong with the Jaguars getting him reps in the slot and at running back, catching 58 passes for 600 yards and five touchdowns with 18 carries for 91 yards on the NFL's worst team. But he took a step back along with the entire Jaguars' offense in 2021, which has led to his place on the depth chart now.
In 16 games, Shenault caught 63 passes for 619 yards and zero touchdowns, bringing his yards per catch mark down from 10.3 to 9.8 and his yards per target figure down from 7.6 to 6.2. Shenault's catch percentage also took a big hit; after catching 73.4% of his targets in 2020, he caught just 63% in 2021 as Pro Football Reference credited him with eight drops.
If the Jaguars can get the 2020 version of Shenault on the field this fall, they shouldn't consider moving him. If they think they are going to have the 2021 version, perhaps they would be open to it. But either way, other teams are likely going to keep a close eye on the Jaguars' third-year receiver.
OL Will Richardson Jr.
A name most people wouldn't expect to see on here because he isn't a starter, Jaguars offensive lineman Will Richardson is quietly one of the more valuable members of the offense thanks to his versatility. Richardson, 26, has appeared in 44 career games for the Jaguars, all of which have come in the last three seasons. Richardson has started five games in that period, with two at left tackle in 2019 and two at right guard last season.
Whether it is left or right tackle or left or right guard, Richardson has gotten reps there in-season and in practice. This makes him an incredibly value swing lineman who could be seen as a potential starter at a number of positions for other teams. Richardson is a key backup for the Jaguars thanks to his versatility, and that same versatility could make him a hot topic among teams looking for offensive line depth.
