Report: Jaguars' Laviska Shenault Seen as a Potential Trade Target

The former second-round pick has reportedly been seen as a potential player on the move as receivers continue to find new landing spots.

With a number of NFL wide receivers on the trade block this offseason, is there a chance a Jacksonville Jaguars wideout could be one of the next players dealt? 

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke threw cold water on the chances of third-year wide receiver Laviska Shenault being dealt at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month, but a recent report suggests this may not be the case after a free agency frenzy at the position. 

"The WR market still has dominoes to fall. There's been talk of the Jaguars moving Laviska Shenault," wrote Ben Standig of The Athletic on Wednesday in the wake of the Tyreek Hill trade. "He'd be a good fit with the Tyreek Hill-less Chiefs."

The WR market still has dominoes to fall. There's been talk of the Jaguars moving Laviska Shenault. He'd be a good fit with the Tyreek Hill-less Chiefs.

Free-agent Marquez Valdes-Scantling meeting with the Chiefs this afternoon.

— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) March 23, 2022

Shenault potentially being seen throughout the league as a trade target wouldn't be a major surprise considering the Jaguars made big additions at wide receiver in free agency, signing Christian Kirk Christian Kirk (four-year, $72 million deal with $37 million guaranteed), Zay Jones (three-year, $24 million deal with $14 million guaranteed) and tight end Evan Engram (one-year, $9 million deal with $8.25 million guaranteed). 

It also wouldn't be the first time Shenault was rumored as a potential trade piece, especially in the wake of the Jaguars signing Kirk, who majors as a slot receiver just like Shenault does.

Per @ESPNdirocco, the buzz is that Laviska Shenault Jr. is a player the Jaguars may be looking to move.

No surprise after the team agreed to sign Christian Kirk and Zay Jones yesterday.

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) March 15, 2022

The understanding in Jacksonville is teams have called the Jaguars about Shenault, but the Jaguars do not appear to be in a rush to send the former second-round pick away for nothing. 

“Not at all – I don’t know where that would come from," Baalke said at the NFL Scouting Combine when asked if the team was looking to move on from Shenault.

"We are very high on Laviska. He does a lot of good things."

Shenault, the No. 42 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, caught 58 passes for 600 yards and five touchdowns on the NFL's worst team as a rookie but saw his numbers take a step backward last season.

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. 

"He is an interesting … Obviously at his size and his speed and the things that he can do, we have to find ways to get him the ball," Baalke said.

"That is not my job – that is Coach [Pederson’s] job. That would be a great question for [Coach Pederson], but by no means has the ship sailed on Laviska.”