One of the most notable moves ahead of the NFL trade deadline hinged on a player who wasn't widely known to be on the block.
On Monday, the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to acquire former Pro Bowl safety
Jessie Bates III from the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and 2028 fifth-round pick, according to multiple reports.
The swap helps an already stingy Jacksonville defense shore up one of its most glaring weaknesses while boosting its big-play quotient. The Falcons, meanwhile, prioritize the long-term outlook of their roster while saying goodbye to one of the roster's more reliable performers.
But who won the deal? Here are grades for each team:
Jaguars grade: C+
On its face, this seems like a pretty exorbitant price tag for a soon-to-be 30-year-old safety on the final year of his deal.
This, however, feels like another instance of Jaguars general manager James Gladstone's calculated aggression bubbling to the surface. It's easy to see the Los Angeles Rams influence of his background in such a move.
Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile's unit has made its name off creating havoc for opponents. The Jaguars rank second in scoring defense (15.1 points allowed per game), thanks in large part to their consistent ability to generate takeaways and stuff the run. But when unable to generate pressure or pick off opposing quarterbacks, Jacksonville's track record is a bit more dicey. And the defense ranks 27th on EPA per play allowed on passes more than 20 yards downfield, according to Next Gen Stats.
It's easy to see why Gladstone would see these trend lines – which only figured to worsen after Eric Murray's season-ending elbow injury – and took action. The Jaguars might be able to run away with the AFC South, but they couldn't expect to face the likes of Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs and avoid having that vulnerability routinely exploited.
Will Bates provide enough of a boost? It's difficult to say. He's still a shrewd presence in coverage, but he doesn't exactly change the entire complexion of the back end.
The cost is ultimately too difficult to stomach, but this is the kind of move a contender makes to capitalize on a Super Bowl-ready roster.
Falcons grade: B+
Kudos to Matt Ryan and Ian Cunningham for not stubbornly barreling ahead with a roster that remains firmly in the mix for the NFC South crown.
Standing pat would have been the easy route, and perhaps the one that provided the best odds for ending an eight-year playoff drought that owner Arthur Blank desperately wants to see ended.
But Atlanta's new leadership clearly understands the scope of the reset it's staring down. Getting such a rich return for a player who likely wasn't in the franchise's long-term plans is nothing short of laudable.
Projected to have an NFL-high $110 million in cap space in 2027, according to Over The Cap, the Falcons couldn't have counted on a compensatory draft pick in 2028 had they let Bates walk in free agency. Instead, Atlanta locks in some significant assets right away.
Perhaps defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich can prove as resourceful in trying to compensate for this loss as he was in masking the absences of Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. for a short-handed pass rush. And in the NFC South, the Falcons still might have enough to get by.
Still, it's difficult to see how a secondary that got roasted by Burrow in Munich might be able to regroup down the stretch without one of its most reliable presences.
The important thing, however, is that Atlanta is now much better positioned for a leap in 2027 and beyond.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who won Jessie Bates III trade? Grading Jaguars, Falcons in deal
