With the NFL trade deadline now officially here, the Jaguars opted to not use any of their resources to acquire talent for a 1-6 squad heading down yet another losing season.
It’s rare that a team will exit the trade deadline netting a game-changing player for the appropriate cost, but the deficiencies Jacksonville currently has at its receiver position, and the issues within its defensive secondary gave some reason to keep an eye out as the trade deadline approached today at 4:00 PM ET.
Some speculated that the team could trade for a receiver, potentially Odell Beckham Jr. who appeared to be on his way out of Cleveland.
There were also calls made by teams to the New York Jets for receiver Denzel Mims, but the latest report was that the Jets were holding onto their former second-round pick. It’s unclear if the Jaguars were among those interesting.
Hearing the Jets have received trade calls about WR Denzel Mims but the answer from the Jets has been a consistent “No.”
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) November 2, 2021
On Monday, Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer made it clear that the team was listening, but wasn’t quite sure whether or not the team would be buyers or sellers this year.
“Oh, I can’t comment on that because I don’t really know yet,” Meyer said yesterday when asked whether the team would be buyers or sellers.
“It depends on if it can make the Jaguars better. That’s, I guess, the ‘coach speak.’ If it can make us better, we’re certainly listening and there’s some certain needs we have and there’s other needs we don’t have. We do have some draft capital for next year.”
The team enters the 2022 NFL Draft with 12 draft picks, including all seven of its original picks, and five acquired via trade over the past couple of years. Now, it appears that the Jaguars will hold onto its capital in hopes of acquiring the talent through other avenues as the new league year approaches next March.
This season, the Jaguars have trotted out one of the worst offenses in the NFL, especially at its skill positions. After losing DJ Chark Jr for the year with an ankle injury, the Jaguars were forced to turn to converted cornerback, receiver Jamal Agnew to receive legitimate snaps at the position.
Agnew would lead the team in targets in the Jaguars’ 31-7 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday with 12. The game featured several drops by its starting receivers, including one each by Marvin Jones Jr. and Laviska Shenault, two players the team and its rookie QB, Trevor Lawrence, are depending on.
The team also opted to rebuild its secondary in the offseason, acquiring cornerbacks Shaq Griffin (free agency), safety Rayshawn Jenkins (free agency) and Tyson Campbell (NFL Draft). CJ Henderson was sent to the Carolina Panthers via trade after being selected with the ninth overall pick in 2020.
Still, the Jaguars have struggled to stop the pass, and that much was made clearer on Sunday after journeyman QB Geno Smith was able to complete the first 14 of his passes.
“We kind of went in with a rebuild,” Meyer mentioned. “We had Tyson [Campbell] a high draft pick, you’ve got Shaq [Shaquill Griffin], who has played very well, and you have [Rayshawn Jenkins] and then [Andrew] Wingard and we’ve got to get [Andre] Cisco ready as well.
“So, we knew that was an area that needed to be somewhat rebuilt and I see it coming. I’m still positive because I still see some good things. But it’s time to make those plays.”
The Jaguars will work with what they have for the remainder of the season, and help is certainly not on the way.
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