Jaguars Mailbag: What Could the Trade Deadline Look Like in Jacksonville?
Each week during this year's season, Jaguar Report will take Jacksonville Jaguars-related questions from our readers across social media and answer them in a question-and-answer format, giving readers a chance to have their voices heard.
You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the Jaguar Report Twitter handle or by submitting them here.
This week we take questions on the Jaguars' Week 8 matchup vs. the Denver Broncos in London, the trade deadline and more.
Q: What moves could the Jags make at the deadline? Would it depend on if they beat the Broncos or not?
A: I don't think it depends on if they beat the Broncos or not. The season and playoff hopes are more or less over with a loss against the Broncos, but I do not think that means the Jaguars will begin a fire sale. Ultimately I think they want to keep most of their current pieces in the fold, at least the pieces who would draw the most interest in any potential trades. And as for actually acquiring players, I do not think a win or loss this week determines that Trent Baalke will suddenly value adding players over draft picks. Baalke's philosophy is to build through the draft, so I think he wants to hold onto his picks.
Q: The Jaguars aren't really going to trade Josh Allen, right?
A: I don't think so. The ESPN report from earlier this week wasn't inaccurate, in my opinion. I completely believe teams are calling the Jaguars about Josh Allen and asking if the young pass-rusher is available, but that doesn't mean the Jaguars are considering any offers. I think it is only logical for teams to call the Jaguars to check the price on a young, talented pass-rusher who has remained injury-free this season.
The Jaguars, though, aren't in the position of being able to move on from long-term pieces while Trevor Lawrence is on his rookie deal. Eventually, the Jaguars just simply need to keep their talented players, something I think they understand. So while I am sure teams are calling the Jaguars about Allen, I do not think the Jaguars would trade him for anything fewer than two firsts.
Q: Is the season over with a loss in London?
A: There have been other 2-5 teams that have still made the playoffs in the past -- the 2015 Houston Texans immediately come to mind. So while the Jaguars' season is on life support, it isn't yet dead. Drop to 2-6, though, with games against the Cowboys, Chiefs and Ravens still ahead? The playoff odds probably drop close to zero in that scenario. The Jaguars have simply lost to too many inferior opponents to allow themself any cushion or margin of error.
Q: If you could only keep one of Jawaan Taylor or Evan Engram, who do you keep?
A: This is a tough one. Both players have had a good season, with Jawaan Taylor allowing seven pressures all season and Evan Engram having just one drop through seven games and plenty of clutch catches on third-down. The Jaguars have a replacement ready-made for Taylor, too, in 2021 second-rounder Walker Little, while the Jaguars only have one tight end under contract in 2023 in 2021 fifth-rounder Luke Farrell.
With that said, I probably would still go with Taylor. He has looked like a legitimate Pro Bowl-caliber tackle this year, and that is worth more moving forward than a solid pass-catching tight end. Keeping both would be ideal, but Taylor has played too well this year to just let walk.
Q: Is there concern over Travis Etienne's flaws showing up more without James Robinson?
A: It is funny you ask that because Travis Etienne told the locker room himself on Wednesday that Robinson's game complemented his and even hid some of his own flaws in his game early on. I do think Robinson does some things better than Etienne, such as pass-protect and reading a defense on zone-running plays, but I think those issues would have flared up for Etienne regardless. He still has the skill set to make his good plays far, far more valuable than his bad ones.
Q: When will the Jaguars give Montaric Brown a chance?
A: If Tre Herndon stumbles at all over the next few weeks, I think you could see the Jaguars turn to seventh-round rookie cornerback. The Jaguars, I think, would give Brown a chance at outside cornerback before Chris Claybrooks, so I do think he is the next in line while Shaquill Griffin is injured. That doesn't guarantee him anything, though, since Herndon can easily hold onto the spot with consistent play.
Q: MVP of the offense and defense so far?
A: MVP of the offense is tough. Christian Kirk has had his moments. So has Jawaan Taylor, who has been their most consistent offensive lineman, though his one bad game of the year (vs. the Eagles in Week 4) helped lead to two turnovers. For me this comes down to Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence, and ultimately I will go with Lawrence because he has done more to make the Jaguars make consistent strides than Etienne has, even if Etienne has been the big-play threat.
For the defense, I am going with Tyson Campbell. I think you can make arguments for Rayshawn Jenkins, Josh Allen, DaVon Hamilton and maybe even Foyesade Oluokun, but Campbell has been the Jaguars' best defender this year. The turnover numbers may not be there, but he does a great job of limiting targets his way and then ensuring he doesn't let teams take advantage when he is looked at in coverage.
Q: Say the Jaguars make all the same offseason roster moves ... who has more wins at this point as the Jaguars' head coach, Doug Pederson or Nathaniel Hackett?
A: The Jaguars were extremely high on Nathaniel Hackett during the interview process, and there is a good argument to make that he may have even been the favorite for the job before quickly accepting the Broncos' offer before he was set to interview with the Jaguars a second time. There is a very real scenario where he would have returned to Jacksonville this offseason after serving as offensive coordinator for a few years.
The Jaguars should be fairly happy with how things worked out, though. Injuries are a huge reason the Broncos have started 2-5 under Hackett, but his inexperience and game-management issues are another huge reason they have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Meanwhile, Doug Pederson has the Jaguars' offense trending in the right direction despite a recent run of close losses. If the 2022 Jaguars are 2-5 under Pederson, I think they would have been 1-6 or even potentially 0-7 under Hackett.
