ET Miles Sanders and Damarri Mathis wearing Jaguars jerseys The 2024ET Miles Sanders and Damarri Mathis wearing Jaguars jerseys The 2024 offseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars has been exciting. Since their collapse in offseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars has been exciting. Since their collapse in the second half of 2023, they have truly reshuffled the deck. Many well-known players have departed the facility in search of larger paychecks elsewhere.
Although Jacksonville did a good job of replacing those men, the work is not yet finished. They still have time to make some kind of improvement to the team.
The Jaguars should look to trade for players like Miles Sanders and Damarri Mathis in order to strengthen their roster for 2024.
Jaguars trade for Damarri Mathis
Jacksonville’s secondary could definitely use some more help. In terms of EPA allowed per dropback, the Jags finished 22nd in the NFL the season following their bye.
That was also in the company of Rayshawn Jenkins and Darious Williams. Williams ended up re-signing with the Los Angeles Rams after being waived for financial reasons. Jenkins and the Seattle Seahawks reached an agreement.
Darnell Savage and Ronald Darby were brought in by the Jaguars to take their places. Darby, who is 30 years old, had a fantastic season with the Baltimore Ravens last season.
A team shouldn’t want their starting corner to be so old. Savage plays safety most of the time, but he could also play corner for the Jaguars. Jacksonville’s other anticipated starting cornerback, Tyson Campbell, had mixed results in 2023.
Jacksonville might try to make a trade for Denver Bronco Damarri Mathis in order to strengthen that position. Mathis performed admirably in his debut season but poorly in his second. Denver moved in response to that.
They selected Missouri corner Kris Abrams-Draine with a draft pick and added Levi Wallace to their roster during the summer.
When the Broncos selected Mathis in the draft, Sean Payton was not in Denver. That might put him on the trade block, along with a subpar sophomore campaign.
It would be prudent for the Jaguars to try to buy cheap and see if Mathis’s performance in his rookie season is a better reflection of his abilities as a player.
Jaguars target Miles Sanders in trade
The most obvious absence on Jacksonville’s roster right now may be the backup running back position.
Although Travis Etienne is outstanding, the Jaguars overworked him the previous season. In addition to 267 carries, he also added 73 targets.
The only players with more combined opportunities than Etienne did in the previous season were Christian McCaffrey and Rachaad White (340).
Etienne’s effectiveness was hindered by such massive workload. His 2022 average of 5.7 yards per touch dropped to 4.6 yards per touch in 2023.
When Jacksonville selected Tank Bigsby of Auburn with the third pick in the draft last year, they believed they had addressed this position. That has been a massive swing and miss thus far. In his debut, Bigsby was terrible.
He only gained 2.6 yards per carry on average, while he only grabbed one catch for six yards. Although they haven’t upgraded Bigsby yet, the Jaguars can do so by acquiring Miles Sanders through trade.
A year earlier, the Panthers acquired Jonathan Brooks from Texas with a second-round pick and had good play from Chuba Hubbard.
Despite a history of strong play, Sanders might be the odd man out of a place there. The former Penn State back ran for 1,269 yards at a clip of 4.9 yards per run only two seasons ago.
Sanders also had a career average of slightly over five yards per rush before his dismal 2023 season. When he is in a position to succeed, he is a competent and effective player.
Although Sanders doesn’t have much of an impact in the passing game, he can steal carries from Etienne to keep him fresh. In addition, he has known head coach Doug Pederson since his time in Philadelphia. Sanders’ trade by Jacksonville for Carolina’s late-round selection makes a lot of sense for both parties.
Shervon Fakhimi, an editorial writer at ClutchPoints, was raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He is an avid sports enthusiast who has a special place in his heart for the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Arkansas Razorbacks.
