One Trade the Jaguars Should Still Be Pushing After the Draft

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have not been afraid to take big swings under the Liam Coen/James Gladstone/Tony Boselli regime, and there is no reason that should be expected to change -- even after the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Jaguars made a flurry of trades in Gladstone and company's first offseason at the helm. starting with Christian Kirk and continuing with other holdovers such as Tank Bigsby, Luke Fortner, and even free agent addition Fred Johnson.

Then there were the players the Jaguars traded for. Jacksonville made arguably the biggest trade in franchise history to move from No. 5 to No. 2 to select Travis Hunter, which was eventually followed by trades for receivers Tim Patrick and Jakobi Meyers.

While this offseason has not quite been the same breakneck pace of trades in Jacksonville, we did see them trade defensive tackle Maason Smith to the Atlanta Falcons for fellow former second-rounder Ruke Orhorhoro. Over the course of this year's draft, though, the Jaguars traded up twice on Day 3 and that was it.

But the Jaguars proved last offseason that the act of player acquisition does not simply end at the draft. The Jaguars signed contributors like Quintin Morris, Dawuane Smoot, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Dennis Gardeck after the draft last season. While the Jaguars could once more turn to signing veteran free agents, it does not seem like it makes much sense to count out any trade possibilities, either.

What post-draft trade would make sense for the Jaguars and push them over the top, though? We break down one idea below.

Trade Worth Pursuing

If there is one potential available veteran who would make sense for the Jaguars to add right now, it would be none other than pass-rusher Nick Herbig. Entering his contract season, Herbig has been a part-time player for the Steelers but some increasingly productive seasons as a pass-rusher who can provide a spark off the edge.

As things stand today, that is what the Jaguars are missing when it comes to the final pieces of their defense. While other sub-package pass-rushers have not made sense for the Jaguars, there is reason to believe Herbig could be different.

nick herbig — Jan 12, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig (51) gestures against the Houston Texans during the first quarter in an AFC Wild Card Round game at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Jaguars' defense did a lot of good things a year ago, but it was hard to say the pass-rush was as effective as the franchise would hope. The Jaguars got terrific pass-rush production from Josh Hines-Allen, but injuries slowed down Travon Walker and no other Jaguars were able to win consistently, leading to offenses devoting most of their attention to Hines-Allen.

Jacksonville's pass-rush does not exactly look much different now than it did a year ago, something even Gladstone himself noted after the draft.

"That's hard to say that it's any different than where it was towards the end of last season. I think the exciting thing from my vantage point is we got some really good football players across that defensive front, and our scheme is prepped to tie not only the rush plan but also the back-end coverage together in a way that's going to make it really impactful," Gladstone said.

Out are former backups Dawuane Smoot and Emmanuel Ogbah, in are Day 3 rookies Wesley Williams and Zach Durfee. Second-year defensive ends Danny Striggow and B.J. Green will look to take a step as well, but none of those is the proven pass-rusher Herbig is. Herbig had a better sack rate and pressure rate than T.J. Watt a year ago, and he has had three years in a row of impressive pass-rush metrics.

nick herbig sack — Sep 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig (51) reacts after recording a sack against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh won 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The biggest reason the Jaguars have not added many fastball edge rushers over the last two years is that they have made it clear they will not make concessions to their run defense. With that said, the Jaguars do have one spot on the roster that can help foster that kind of skill set: SAM linebacker.

Like Herbig, Dennis Gardeck is more of a linebacker body type who was able to play early downs for the Jaguars as a strongside linebacker before rushing off the edge on third-down. If the Jaguars are going to add an explosive sub-package pass-rusher, it feels much more likely they would do it at this position as opposed to at defensive end.

It remains to be seen what Herbig's price could be, but considering he is entering a contract year this feels like a deal the Jaguars could make doable. If the Jaguars want to find one move to really push the envelop forward, it would be this one.

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