3 trades Jacksonville Jaguars can make to address biggest needs, get back on track

1. Trade the Jaguars must make to right the ship before the deadline: Derek Barnett, DE

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Jags heading into the 2023 season was whether their pass rush was going to be good enough to consistently apply pressure up front. Although they had a couple of capable outside linebackers in Josh Allen and Travon Walker, there wasn't much depth behind them.

Still, the Jaguars' pass rush showed up in the opener. Walker and Allen combined for four sacks. Unfortunately, they didn't have nearly the same impact against the Kansas City Chiefs. In retrospect, this wasn't particularly surprising when you consider that Patrick Mahomes excels at navigating the pocket and throwing in the run.

That said, it was alarming to see Jacksonville fail to get to rookie C.J. Stroud in Week 3 a single time. Simply, the pass rush lacked juice against the Texans. When asked what went wrong, head coach Doug Pederson responded with an uncharacteristic pause. He eventually cited a handful of reasons but it was telling that Doug P was as shocked as everyone else.

While there's a chance Josh Allen and Travon Walker will bounce back, the Jaguars should get in touch with the Philadelphia Eagles to see if defensive end Derek Barnett is available and see how much it would cost to get him. Philly has one of the best — if not the best defensive lines in the league. This has led to speculation about all the offseason whether Barnett could be placed on the trade block.

Since the Eagles drafted Barnett in 2017, he's logged 21.5 sacks. Although he has starting experience, he's better suited for a rotational role, which would be perfect in Jacksoville. The Jaguars already have a pair of booking pass rushers, they just need to round out their rotation and Barnett could be a good fit.

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