Bleacher Report released a list of five trades NFL teams should try to make ahead of the draft this month and included the Jacksonville Jaguars in one of its potential deals.
Ian Wharton believes the team should trade left tackle Cam Robinson to the Carolina Panthers. In the scenario, he had Jacksonville parting ways with its pick at 198 and 223 for the Panthers’ selection at 137. Here is what Bleacher Report wrote:
Regardless of whether the Jaguars take an offensive lineman or pass-rusher with the No. 1 overall pick, spending $16.7 million on Cam Robinson’s franchise tag is wasteful, considering their needs. 2021 second-round pick Walker Little can take over at left tackle, and Robinson doesn’t have the talent to justify paying so much for a left guard. The Jags’ decision to tag him feels more like they’re angling for a trade.
Carolina would be a much better spot for Robinson both now and in the long term. While the Panthers probably won’t love the idea of losing another draft pick, this regime must leverage its assets to get a long-term, viable winner on the field. Taking a rookie quarterback with the sixth overall pick and putting him behind a rebuilt line is one way to get back on track.
This deal doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Jaguars. Paying Robinson $16.7 million seems like a lot, but he improved last season. He only allowed one sack and 31 pressures the whole season, both of which are the best figures of his career when excluding the year he tore his ACL early in the season (2018).
Head coach Doug Pederson spoke highly of Robinson at the owners meetings this offseason and said he’s hoping the team can get a long-term deal done with him.
“To bring great guys back like Cam is to protect your quarterback,” he said. “We want the offensive line to be solidified. We want guys up there that have been around. Cam is a big part of that, so we’re excited obviously to retain him. Hopefully, we will work out a long-term deal with him, so he’s around more than a year.
However, one caveat to this argument is that Robinson still hasn’t signed his tag. But Jacksonville has months before the deadline arrives for them to iron out a long-term deal.
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