Jacksonville Jaguars 2014 NFL Draft – Trading Down

Nov 30, 2013; Columbia, MO, USA; Texas A

Draft speculation is starting to build as the season comes to a close, and that includes speculation of who may trade up or down. Erik Lambert recently put out a mock draft with some possible trades over at NFL Mocks and it made me think about some of the people who suggest the Jacksonville Jaguars need to trade down to accumulate more picks.

The logic behind the Jaguars trading down is overly simplistic – the Jaguars have a lot of holes to fill so they might as well stock up on picks and try to take as many players as possible. While not completely incorrect, this theory works under the assumption that there isn’t a possible franchise changing player in the top 3 of the draft. It also doesn’t take into account the possibility that general manager David Caldwell likes one of the top quarterbacks enough to take them with the third overall selection.

Most importantly, trading down is not a one-way street. In order to collect more picks, the Jaguars need to find a team willing to give up picks and to offer a deal worth taking.

And therein lies the rub – if there is a team willing to trade up to the third overall pick, doesn’t that mean there is a player worthy of not only that selection but also the extra picks? In this particular draft, the most likely scenario for a team to trade up is if Jadeveon Clowney or one of the quarterbacks is sitting there after the first two picks. In that situation, the Jaguars should probably take one of those players.

The two most pressing needs on this team are quarterback and pass rusher – the two most impactful positions in the game.

It’s fun and easy to suggest that the Jaguars trade down in the draft, but they honestly don’t need to. What the Jaguars need is a quarterback and a pass rusher. David Caldwell has 10 draft picks to work his magic, he’ll be fine.

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89