The Jacksonville Jaguars trading a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2029 NFL Draft is a disaster, according to Seth Walder of ESPN. The ESPN analyst gave the Jaguars trade an F, noting that the Jaguars added someone who does not play a full snap count.
“He has played 52% of snaps for the Eagles,” wrote Walder. “That number is not particularly unusual for a run-stuffing nose tackle, but that’s exactly the point: The Jaguars just dealt first- and second-round picks for a part-time player who helps only against the run! There is no world where that is worth it.”
The trade specifically fills a need for the Jaguars. They lost DaVon Hamilton for the season the week prior and needed to replace him.
Jacksonville Jaguars Crushed for Jordan Davis Trade
While Walder understands that Hamilton was a massive part of the Jaguars’ plans on defense, he felt the team did not need to invest that much in replacing him.
“The Jaguars did recently lose nose tackle DaVon Hamilton to a season-ending injury but had seemingly addressed that with the Godchaux trade earlier Monday. Even without that move, overpaying on such a massive scale for Davis does not make sense.”
It seems as though where Walder is missing the mark is the contract of Davis. The Jaguars see the contract as a benefit; he sees it as a hindrance.
“Davis is under contract through the 2029 season,” added Walder. “The Jaguars will be on the hook for $18.4 million (mostly fully guaranteed) in 2027, $26 million in 2028 (most of which will become fully guaranteed in 2027), and $26 million in 2029. So relative to other nose tackles, he’s not even cheap for Jacksonville going forward.”
The Jaguars do not mind paying that price, though.
Jaguars Needed Help at Nose Tackle
Hamilton had a $12M cap hit this year and is due a contract at the end of the season. He is going to be 30 years old and is coming off of season-ending surgery. Still, he could hit the market and get something close to $12M per year, if not more.
So, the Jaguars not only needed to replace him this year; they needed to decide if paying him off of the injury was worth it. With Davis, his cap hit is $5M next year, $10M the following year, and then $15M the next year. He will be the same age as Hamilton when he is due a new contract in 2029.
So, the Jaguars were already going to spend that money on a nose tackle. They just ended up paying the money to a younger nose tackle with more potential. You can hate on the Jaguars’ defensive philosophy, but the defense has been successful and their coordinator is getting head coach interviews.
The hate around the trade is understandable given the cost. However, it is just as easy to see why the Jaguars do not see this as the disaster that Walder does.
ESPN Analyst Unleashes Brutal Review of Jaguars ‘Disaster’ Trade