JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There is a new Jacksonville Jaguar entering the second week of the preseason.
The Jaguars traded for fifth-year offensive lineman Daniel Faalele this week, sending a 2027 sixth-round pick for the New York Giants guard. But what do we make of the deal that the Jaguars got done to land Faalele , and are they on the winning side of this move? We break it down below.
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, left, and Executive Vice President of football operations Tony Boselli talk during the first day of NFL Training Camp at the Miller Electric Center on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
It is easy to see why the Jaguars felt like they had to make this move. As things stand today, the Jaguars are still facing a number of injuries along the offensive line, even with Cole Van Lanen being activated off the Active/PUP list on Thursday. Patrick Mekari is out indefinitely, while Wyatt Milum and Chuma Edoga are each dealing with injuries in the short term. For the Jaguars to simply prepare for Week 1 with enough confidence that they have the depth needed each day, some kind of move had to be made.
We have seen the Jaguars add fringe backups like Sam Mustipher
and Geron Christian
at different points to the offensive line since camp kicked off, while they have also heavily relied on third-team offensive linemen Ricky Lee,
Jimto Obidegwu, Jerome Carvin, and Kilian Zierer -- a group that has appeared in one combined NFL game.
By comparison, Faalele started 31 games in college before starting 35 games in Baltimore over the last two seasons. He appeared in 66 regular-season games and five playoff games for the Ravens, and former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh though enough of him to bring him to New York on a small prove-it deal.
There is not a lot of positive to say in terms of having to give up a sixth-round pick for Carvin, but the upside is that they are projected to get a sixth-round compensatory draft pick in 2027 after Greg Newsome signed with the New York Giants. This would be a tougher trade to find positives in if that was not the case.
Nov 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Baltimore Ravens guard Daniel Faalele (77) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The cons on this one have to due mostly with the fact that the Jaguars were not operating from a position of leverage. The Jaguars were desperate for an offensive lineman with expereince, especially in the wake of Mekari's injury. They tried signing two free agents with experience in Mustipher and Christian, but neither has proven to be a stabilizer. That meant the Jaguars were going to have to part with a pick.
There is a chance that Faalele was never going to make the Giants' 53-man roster, which suggests Joe Schoen may have gotten a sixth-round pick for a player he was going to cut in two weeks. Sixth-round picks aren't nothing; Cam Little and Parker Washington were sixth-round picks overall. Schoen does not get that many wins as a general manager, but he had all of the leverage here if the Jaguars wanted a player who has actually played games recently.
Faalele was a below-average starter with the Ravens during his two years at right guard, and the best way the Jaguars can get their value back on this move is likely if they never have to actually use him in the starting lineup. That is never going to be the formula for a winning trade, even if the Jaguars were in a place where they had to make some kind of desperation move.
Considering the lack of leverage the Jaguars had when it came to the offensive line market, perhaps it should be counted as a win that all they gave up to land Faalele was a sixth-round pick. The Jaguars still have plenty of picks in next year's draft, and nobody now is complaining about the Jaguars trading a sixth-round pick around this time last year for Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick .
With that said, the need for an offensive lineman was clear, and the Jaguars could have done worse with their array of options. This is not a deal that will harm the Jaguars, and there are enough reasons to understand why it had to be made. Sometimes, that is the best you can ask for when making a deal after a rash of injuries at a position.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/onsi as Grading the Jaguars' Trade for Daniel Faalele: Why James Gladstone Made the Move .
