It's safe to say that the Jacksonville Jaguars weren't nearly as aggressive as they could have been in free agency. The franchise has more stories about players who walked away to the open market instead of those who were brought in on high-profile deals. One of them was Andrew Wingard, a fan favorite who was limited as a starter but provided years of good snaps on special teams and as a reserve safety.
Those focusing more on Wingard's performances as a starter are probably happy that he left Duval County to become an Arizona Cardinal. Likewise, Rayuan Lane III might feel like Dewey's role is his for the taking as the Naval Academy grad heads into his second season as a pro.
While both points of view are fair, the Jags have 11 draft picks to work with before it's time to spend them all in April. As such, now would be as good a time as any to take a swing and see if there are any veterans on the trade block who could help the franchise return to the postseason.
JL Skinner could fill Andrew Wingard's spot and compete for a job on the Jaguars defense
JL Skinner is a fourth-year pro who is in the final season of his rookie contract. After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft, he developed into a solid special teams contributor and a defender who can step in for a few plays while the starting DBs take a breather. Before being selected, he was one of the most athletic prospects in his position group and an all-conference performer in the Mountain West.
Skinner blocked a punt last season and added eight solo tackles and a fumble recovery during his 2025 campaign. Throughout his third year in the league, the Boise State alum flashed loads of potential, as Predominately Orange's Jordan Lopez wrote that No. 34 has the size and tackling ability to take snaps at inside linebacker and help Denver fix their lack of depth at the position.
In the Jaguars' case, the acquisition of a defensive Swiss army knife to address their own needs at inside linebacker is an enticing opportunity. Skinner's arrival would immediately boost the team's special teams unit, but Anthony Campanile's creativity and aggressiveness could help the 24-year-old unlock his potential as a traditional defender. This would give Jax's defense more depth and a unique chess piece to design plays around.
Of course, there is a major downside to the trade. James Gladstone's dedication to elevating the floor has led to some disappointing transactions. Greg Newsome, Khalen Saunders, Kahlef Hailassie, and Dyami Brown were all players who were "here today and gone tomorrow" in a sense. 2025 was their only year in a Jaguars uniform because they didn't perform well enough to earn significant playing time or prove they were worth a multi-year deal.
In all honesty, Skinner lands squarely within this tier of player before seeing what he could be within Gladstone's cultural ecosystem. The Jags are pressed for salary cap space, so the best place to find elite talent at a low price is the draft. However, the sixth and seventh rounds are known to produce players who are competing for a spot on the practice squad more often than not.
Skinner, at the very least, is an NFL-caliber athlete who carved a niche for himself in the third phase of the game. Thus, the next step of this exercise is to determine how much the privilege of landing his contract rights should be worth.
Grade the pitch: The Jaguars should be able to grab Skinner with one of their many 7th-round picks
Jacksonville has three seventh-round picks because of the compensation they got from trades involving Riley Patterson and Christian Kirk. The pick Jax received for Kirk's services is notable because it originated from a transaction between the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans in 2024. In theory, this means Gladstone has a chance to play with house money, as he would be using his old team's capital to take a flyer on another roster's underappreciated asset.
Offering the 245th-overall pick for a fourth-year veteran might not be the most attractive offer in most cases, but Denver has to ask itself two questions. First, what's the likelihood of Skinner becoming a high-impact starter within Sean Payton's program? The Broncos get to have a draft as well, and there's no guarantee that they won't be adding a new DB who'd push No. 34 even further down the depth chart.
Also, Payton's been around the block and knows how to turn late-round guys into standout players. I'd reckon that coach has done all he could thus far.
With that, the second question ponders if Skinner's contributions as a special teamer are valuable enough to accept getting nothing for him before he becomes a free agent. If Gladstone were to offer the 245th-overall pick now, Payton would be able to find a prospect that offers just as much, if not more, than Skinner does during this year's draft.
So, I'd give this trade a C+ simply because it takes care of a minor problem for Denver and gives Jacksonville a chance to spend minuscule capital on a project with above-average upside. The Jaguars would probably love to have an elite safety, but adding as much veteran talent as possible to the secondary before the draft allows the front office to attack other needs more aggressively.