JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars are playing poker in the dark while the rest of the league evaluates 40-yard dashes in Indianapolis. General manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen opted to skip the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine this week. They are busy hunting bigger game. After a stunning 13-4 season ended in a heart-wrenching 27-24 Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Jaguars trade scenarios hitting the wire suggest Jacksonville is ready to push all their chips to the middle of the table.
Gladstone proved his aggressive streak during the 2025 draft by trading up for two-way phenom Travis Hunter. Now, operating without a 2026 first-round pick, the youngest GM in football needs to get creative. If the Jaguars want to secure a trip to Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles, they need proven stars. Here is a breakdown of the wildest, yet oddly logical, trade ideas circulating league circles right now.
Raiders receive: DE Travon Walker, 2026 2nd & 3rd-round picks, 2027 1st-round pick
Jaguars receive: DE Maxx Crosby
Sacrificing a 2027 first-round pick stings. The hype surrounding that draft class is astronomical. But Maxx Crosby is an established terror off the edge. You make that call every single time.
Jacksonville faces a looming financial decision with Travon Walker. Instead of rolling the dice on a massive extension for a solid run defender with a few double-digit sack seasons, the Jaguars secure a relentless pass rusher. For Las Vegas, the math works. The Raiders are heavily favored to draft Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall. Stockpiling assets gives incoming head coach Klint Kubiak the ammunition to build a fortress around his rookie quarterback, while letting Crosby escape a lengthy rebuild.
Rams receive: 2026 2nd-round pick, 2027 1st- & 3rd-round picks
Jaguars receive: DT Kobie Turner
Wake Forest rarely produces defensive line superstars, but Kobie Turner dominates the interior. Gladstone cut his teeth in the Rams’ front office and played a massive role in finding late-round diamonds like Turner. He knows exactly what the defensive tackle brings to the locker room.
Los Angeles boasts a projected $181 million in 2027 cap space, but that money vanishes fast. Matthew Stafford demands roughly $50 million year-to-year. Puka Nacua is staring down a contract that will make him the highest-paid receiver in football. Edge rusher Byron Young just logged 12 sacks and needs to be paid. The Rams will face brutal cap casualties. If Gladstone slides a massive pick package across the table, Los Angeles might just blink. How does Jacksonville afford the extension? Gladstone figures out the salary cap gymnastics later.
Chiefs receive: WR Brian Thomas Jr.
Jaguars receive: CB Trent McDuffie
You could argue Kansas City should attach a draft pick to this deal. Brian Thomas Jr. torched secondaries in 2024, finishing third in the NFL in receiving yards as a rookie. But the Chiefs are desperate for a legitimate perimeter weapon to help Patrick Mahomes transition into the post-Travis Kelce era.
Trent McDuffie operates as one of the premier cover corners in football. Kansas City’s puzzling reluctance to hand him a long-term extension opens a fascinating window. Pairing McDuffie opposite Travis Hunter in the Jaguars secondary creates an impenetrable no-fly zone in the AFC South. It is a rare, spicy swap that immediately solves massive headaches for both franchises.
“The talent that exists on this team is better than that record… We’re going to elevate the floor of the roster immediately. We look forward to injecting this ecosystem with some intangible elements.”
— James Gladstone, Jaguars General Manager
You could feel the air leave EverBank Stadium when Buffalo escaped with that Wild Card victory last month. The Jaguars possess a championship-caliber offense under Coen, but Josh Allen exposed their defensive inconsistencies when the lights shined brightest. Acquiring a closer like Crosby or a lockdown artist like McDuffie completely flips the AFC hierarchy.
Jacksonville currently lacks the defensive teeth to stop Mahomes, Allen, or Joe Burrow in a tight fourth quarter. Executing just one of these monumental trades transitions the Jaguars from a cute Cinderella story into the definitive AFC heavyweight.
