Just as there are grades handed out on each NFL team’s draft classes and free agency hauls, there are also grades handed out for trades. Of course, that was the case for the Jacksonville Jaguars latest transaction where the traded cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Broncos.
Our USA TODAY comrade with For the Win, Steven Ruiz, took to the web to immediately grade the trade after the news was revealed, and unlike some, he feels the move was a solid one. He ultimately gave them a B+, stating that it may not be appealing in terms of the team’s 2020 outlook, but also going on to say it made sense for the front office.
From a football standpoint, this trade makes all the sense in the world. From a PR standpoint, it’s a little harder to defend after the Jags traded Ramsey and fellow first-round pick Dante Fowler in consecutive seasons. With a trade of Yannick Ngakoue likely to happen over the next month or two, Jacksonville will have said goodbye to a lot of defensive talent. This team also lost WR Allen Robinson to free agency two seasons ago and its defensive leader, LB Telvin Smith, stepped away from the team last offseason. What I’m saying is, it’s going to be hard to put together ads for 2020 season tickets. Gardner Minshew’s mustache isn’t that much of a draw.
But even if the fans hate this trade, it was still the right one to make.
Jaguars grade: B+
I completely agree. While some feel the Jags could’ve even received a third-round pick, Mike Klis of Denver’s 9News reported that the Jags gave Bouye a say where he wanted to go. If true, there could’ve been better options on the table in terms of draft picks, but it looks like the Jags wanted to do Bouye right.
Per sources, other teams were in on A.J. Bouye trade. But Bouye expressed a preference to be dealt to Denver and Jags GM Dave Caldwell did him right by working out the deal with Elway/Russell. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) March 4, 2020
As for the Broncos, Ruiz gave them a C- because he simply felt that giving up the compensation they did and taking on the cap that will was necessary for the Broncos’ corner friendly scheme.
Again, Bouye is a solid corner — he might even be a very good one — but Broncos head coach Vic Fangio has made a career out of getting more out of less at the cornerback position. His scheme doesn’t put a lot of physical stress on its cornerbacks, who are rarely left out on an island. If you can play the flats, jump out routes by slot receivers and stay over the top of go routes, you can thrive as a corner in Fangio’s scheme. Bouye can do all of those things, but so can a lot of veteran corners who don’t come with a $13.5 million cap hit.
It’s always a good thing to add talent, especially at a position of need, but in a league with a hard salary cap, resource allocation always matters and this was not the smartest use of draft capital or cap dollars by Elway.
Broncos grade: C-
Ultimately time will tell if it was a wise move by either team. Jags general manager Dave Caldwell has certainly left a hole on the roster and it could come back to haunt him if his job is truly on the line. Then again, with a boatload of draft picks and $30 million in cap space, he has some resources to fix the issue.