Reacts Survey Results: Jaguars fans want to trade up in 2026 NFL Draft

This week, we asked Jacksonville Jaguars fans if they want the team to trade up or down from their first pick (No. 56) in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Over half of the respondents want to trade up.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the shoo-in favorite (-20000 odds) to be the first overall pick next month. The second overall pick figures to be one of the draft class’s top three EDGE defenders: Ohio State’s Arvell Reese (-240), Texas Tech’s David Bailey (+300), or Miami’s

Rueben Bain Jr. (+1000).

After those three names, there’s a bit of a drop-off at pass-rushing positions. There isn’t much talent in the bottom of the first round, but closer to the middle rounds, there are plenty of mid-tier guys to be found this year.

We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see if the Jaguars can land one of their guys with the 56th overall pick, or whether they’ll consider moving up.

Top comments from Wednesday’s post:

mnkman322

Team needs pass rush badly, and we would need to give up more than any player could recoup in on field value to get high enough to draft a blue chip EDGE. Or we can pick one of the best pass rushing DTs in the class in Gracen Halton by staying at 56.

Trying to trade back for more capital is a little too cute for my tastes when your first bite at the apple is at 56 and you haven’t gotten any known quality starters (yet) from numerous high draft picks.

Don’t mortgage more team future to try to impress fans in the offseason. You did that already with Hunter and dude couldn’t even finish the season at one position let alone justify your Shohei Ohtani billing at two positions.

MalabarJag

Trading up should be used if a player deemed valuable falls into range. IIRC the Jags traded up in round 2 for Miles Jack, Cam Robinson, and Jawaan Taylor, all players who were at one point projected as Jaguar 1st round picks. That was a decent use of trade-ups. In 2023 trading up should have been used in round 2 to get Brian Branch, and in 2024 to get either DeJean or McKinstry, since the team needed a DB both years, but Baalke went with physical attributes over football skill.

While Caldwell used trade-ups wisely, he was hopeless at trading down.

I didn’t like the Travis Hunter trade-up. I still believe the Jags could have traded down from 5 last year, and still gotten a good player plus a future pick (probably 2026 round 2). It looked to me that there wasn’t a lot of difference in the quality of players available from 4 to 12 last year.

So my answer is: trade up if the draft falls in a way that it makes sense. Otherwise, no.

JimboJonesjr

JimmyG and the Jags braintrust know what they are doing. 13-4 with what they inherited was spectacular. Travis Hunter is going to turn out to be a great pick.

JaxCommenterGuy

If you have a good player, at a position of need, and are concerned that he will be taken…sure, move up a few spots if the price is right.

But big-pricetag trade-ups rarely work out well.