Nobody will deny that the trade for Jakobi Meyers gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a massive boost at receiver. That said, they had other needs that they could've addressed before the deadline but chose not to. The biggest one without a doubt was at defensive tackle. In fact, Dianna Russini of the Athletic reported that the Jags were looking for help at the position not long ago.
However, the trade deadline came and went, and Jacksonville stayed put. Quinnen Williams seemed like a legitimate option. There's even chatter on social media that general manager James Gladstone was trying to get a deal done before the Dallas Cowboys swooped in and acquired the three-time Pro Bowl nod. Then again, he didn't come up cheap.
The Boys sent a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith to the New York Jets in return for Williams. Looking at all the assets they had to give up, it's understandable that James Gladstone passed on him. On the other hand, defensive tackle is still a need. And now that the window to make trades is closed, the Jags must turn their attention to an option that remains unsigned after being let go in the offseason.
The Jaguars must set their sights on Christian Wilkins after massing out on Quinnen Williams
With all the attention the trade deadline gets, it's easy to forget that Christian Wilkins remains unsigned after the Las Vegas Raiders released him in July. At the time, he was recovering from a Jones fracture he suffered in October last year, but because he opted to rehab away from the team, the Raiders chose to cut ties with him. On top of that, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the 20219 first-round pick had an uncomfortable interaction with a teammate.
Couple that with the fact that a new regime took over in Las Vegas, and the Silver & Black chose to move on from him. Since then, he's had a relatively quiet market, but that's mostly because he was still recovering from the aforementioned fracture. When healthy, though, the former Clemson Tiger can wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage.
Wilkins appeared in 81 games with 77 starts and registered 20.5 sacks for the Miami Dolphins before signing a four-year deal with Las Vegas in 2024. However, his first season with the Raiders came to a halt when he fractured his foot.
It's hard to tell just how healthy Wilkins is or what kind of shape he is currently in. But the Jaguars could easily hold a tryout and find out. At worst, they can check off a box. At best, they could take care of a need.
Quienn Williams would help the Jaguars take care of a glaring need
The Jaguars have a glaring hole at defensive tackle. Outside of Arik Armstead, they're lacking playmakers in the interior trenches. DaVon Hamilton stole the spotlight because he was responsible for the game-winning deflection against the Raiders. However, he hasn't had that kind of impact the remainder of the season, while Maason Smith has been a non-factor. Meanwhile, Khalen Saunders Sr., who landed in Jacksonville via trade in the offseason, has mostly been a healthy scratch in Duval.
Even if Wilkins isn't back to his dominant self, he would provide much-needed depth at defensive tackle. The Jaguars could offer him the veteran's minimum with the opportunity to boost his stock and cash in next year.
Simply, signing Christian Wilkins would be a low-risk, high-reward move that might allow the Jaguars to take care of a need before they start a playoff push in the second half of the season.