The Jacksonville Jaguars might not have been thrilled that the Chicago Bears stole Ben Johnson in the offseason. Then again, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing when you take into account that they ended up hiring Liam Coen as their head coach. Moreover, Chicago could turn out to be the ideal partner if the Jags want to trade down in the 2025 NFL Draft. Mason Cameron of Pro Football Focus just took a look at what that scenario would potentially look like.
Cameron drew up "a list of first-round trades we want to see" and has Jacksonville switching spots with the Bears in exchange for the 41st pick in this year's draft. The caveat is that the deal would be contingent on Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter being available at No. 5.
"If this offseason has taught us anything, it’s that Bears general manager Ryan Poles isn’t shy about flexing his draft capital when he sees an opportunity. That very well could be the situation this team will find itself in should Abdul Carter fall out of the top four, the result of two quarterbacks being selected within that range or perhaps Will Campbell’s length concerns not scaring away a team like New England."
Cameron points out that the Bears already signed Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency, but that shouldn't deter them from making an aggressive push to land Carter. On the other hand, he thinks that even after moving down five spots, Jacksonville would be able to land a top-10 player.
By that point of the first round, some of Jacksonville's top targets will be gone, but a few others will be available. Defensive tackle Mason Graham, edge rusher Jalon Walker, offensive tackle Armand Membou, or wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan may still be on the board; at least one of them should be.
All of them would address a need for the Jaguars, so they wouldn't probably be opposed to trading down. General manager James Gladstone has made it clear that they're open to the possibility, pointing out that "he's excited about what the team can do."
The Jaguars currently have extra picks in the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh rounds (after the Christian Kirk trade), but they wouldn't probably mind getting an additional second-rounder.
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Why the Jaguars would love to trade with the Bears
The downside of moving down to No. 10 is that the Jacksonville Jaguars would miss out on Travis Hunter, and possibly Mason Graham. Having said that, the prospect of acquring an extra second-round, especially one early on, may be too good to pass up.
The Jags would be in a position to take one of the highest-rated prospects in the first round and then address two needs in the second round. For instance, they could draft cornerback Will Johnson at No. 10, and then draft wide receiver Matthew Golden and offensive lineman Tyler Booker. Granted, they could most definitely use a playmaker such as Hunter, but the trade-off is that they would be getting lots of value.
Of course, it takes two to tango, and aside from the Chicago Bears, it's hard to tell if there's another potential trade partner willing to switch places. Moreover, the Jags probably won't want to move back too far away from the top 10. Either way, moving down and acquiring extra assets is a scenario James Gladstone should strongly consider.