Ranking the Jaguars Players Most Likely to be Traded Before the Deadline: Brian Thomas Jr. Leads the Pack

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- With the NFL Trade Deadline still a few weeks away, there is plenty of time for the Jacksonville Jaguars to do some shopping ... or selling.

The Jaguars have made their fair share of trades under James Gladstone, shipping out players like Tyson Campbell, Tank Bigsby, Fred Johnson, and Luke Fortner while trading for players like Jakobi Meyers, Greg Newsome, Daniel Faalele, and Quinn Ewers. As a result, it is natural to think the Jaguars could be active again over the next month.

1) WR Brian Thomas Jr.

The first five games of the season just haven't seen much production for Brian Thomas Jr. After the best offseason of his career that highlighted some real chemistry on the practice field between him and Trevor Lawrence, Thomas has caught just nine passes for 105 yards and a touchdown through five games, and the last three games have seen him catch just three passes for 25 yards and see just six targets go his way. In short, he has become a background character in the Jaguars' offense.

This doesn't mean he doesn't provide clear value. His deep-threat ability gives the Jaguars a receiver on the field who demands constant attention from the defense, and the stress his skill-set puts on secondaries is a big reason why Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Brenton Strange have been so productive over the last two seasons. The Jaguars have shown zero intentions of moving on Thomas for that reason, among several others.

But after Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded for a second-round pick, one has to think the Jaguars would at least be open to listening to any calls that would provide similar, if not better, draft cache. Thomas would be by far the most talented player available at the position during this year's trade cycle, which would also inflate his value. The Jaguars clearly do not want to trade him, and chances are they won't. But if a Jaguar gets traded before the deadline, it feels like it would be him.

2) DL Arik Armstead

I am hesitant to place Arik Armstead here since he has been a big part of the Jaguars' run defense and pass-rush all season long, which has been a critical factor toward the Jaguars sitting alone in first-place of the AFC South. The only reason he is actually on here at all is due to the fact that he has a good bit more trade value than any player on the Jaguars' roster not named Brian Thomas Jr. His contract is fairly tradeable, and he is still producing as a disruptive interior defensive lineman -- that is a player with some real trade value.

While Armstead would likely net the Jaguars a fairly significant pick for a player in his career stage, it is still clear the Jaguars would be a worse team in 2026 without Armstead. The Jaguars are playing to compete for a Super Bowl this season, and there is no reason for them to disrupt that window for the sake of a 2027 draft pick, especially when it comes to a pass-rush that relies on Armstead to provide their biggest source of interior pressure.

If the Jaguars feel as if Ruke Orhorhoro is taking the next step, and if they like Albert Regis' development, then maybe this would make more sense. But even though Armstead would have some clear value on the market, this is a move that I would label unlikely. The Jaguars need Armstead right now, even if he would net them some pretty nice draft ammunition. If the Jaguars were not clearly a top AFC team this would perhaps be a bit different, but this is of course not the case.

3) OL Patrick Mekari

The Jaguars' offensive line is clearly hurting after left tackle Anton Harrison was placed on injured reserve this week, but this is one that still makes sense to me. The Jaguars have some offensive line depth to weather the storm with Harrison with Walker Little, Wyatt Milum, Jonah Monheim, and Daniel Faalele able to step in and fill several spots along the line. It would be a plus to have Patrick Mekari when he comes off injured reserve, too, but even with Harrison injured I think Mekari has some trade value.

Even if the Jaguars got compensation close to what they gave up to the New York Giants for Faalele (a sixth-round pick). I think the fact that Mekari is a versatile and experienced offensive linemen would give him some trade value as long as he is healthy, which he still remains to be. But if the Jaguars bring him off injured reserve and onto the active roster sooner rather than later, he could give them a chess piece. This leads to the question of whether the Jaguars would actually look for offensive line help of their own, of course, but it still makes sense to me under the right circumstances.

If the Jaguars keep Mekari on their roster, there is a chance he still might be a healthy scratch with Harrison out -- it would be either him, Faalele, or Milum, and it doesn't seem as if the Jaguars would be better with Mekari on the active game day roster instead of any of those three.

Add us as a preferred source on Google