Jessie Bates III arrives at the Jaguars’ facility, Nov. 10, 2026. Photo by Jacksonville Jaguars, resized.Three trades in one day: how the 6-2 Jaguars rebuilt the middle of their defense, step by step
The Jaguars’ 33-10 win at Baltimore, Nov. 5, 2026. Still from NFL game highlights, resized.A team that was already winning
The Jaguars are 6-2 and lead the AFC South by three games over Houston. They beat Baltimore 33-10 last Thursday night for their second straight win.
Their +108 point differential is the best in the league, 29 points ahead of San Francisco. Only Minnesota has allowed fewer points per game.
Jaguars margin, game by game
EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. Photo by Quintin Soloviev, resized.Two starters gone for the season
The trades answered two injuries. Starting safety Eric Murray is out for the season with an elbow injury, and nose tackle DaVon Hamilton tore a quadriceps against the Colts in Week 8. Both went on injured reserve last week. Safety Caleb Ransaw is also on injured reserve.
Kaevon Merriweather and Rayuan Lane III had been filling in at safety.
“It wasn't necessarily like a coming-to-Jesus moment where you're like, 'Oh, the secondary.' It was more just over the span of the season, and obviously losing Eric.”— Liam Coen, Jaguars head coach
Jessie Bates III on the Falcons’ sideline this season. Photo by Atlanta Falcons, resized.Monday, Nov. 9
The first deal became public before either team said a word. The rest of the day followed one move at a time.
- Bates posts “WOKE UP A JAGUAR!” on X. Jacksonville sends Atlanta a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
- Coen spends most of his regular Monday news conference on his new safety.
- The Saints announce Godchaux’s trade to Jacksonville for a conditional sixth-round pick.
- The Eagles announce they have agreed to trade Davis for a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick. The Jaguars confirm a minute later.
- Bates and Davis arrive in Jacksonville on deadline day.
Jessie Bates III on his first day in Jacksonville, Nov. 10, 2026. Photo by Jacksonville Jaguars, resized.Jessie Bates III, safety
Bates, 29, is in his ninth season and the final year of a four-year, $64 million contract. The Falcons restructured the deal before trading him. He has started all 139 games he has played for the Bengals and Falcons.
In nine games for Atlanta this season he had 60 tackles, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, an interception and four passes defensed, including 14 tackles in Madrid on Sunday.
Bates tackles for Atlanta, game by game
“The amount of text messages I've received from people that have been around him, coached him, been in the building with him, all I've heard is that he makes people around him better.”— Liam Coen
Davon Godchaux, nose tackle
Godchaux, 31, is in his 10th season after entering the league as a fifth-round pick, No. 178 overall, by Miami in 2017. He has played 145 games, with 128 starts, for the Dolphins, Patriots and Saints, and made 487 tackles.
His role in New Orleans had shrunk: 15 tackles in eight games, five of them starts. In Jacksonville he steps into Hamilton’s spot at nose tackle next to Arik Armstead.
“Much like Jessie, he has been a productive player in this league for a number of years and provides stability up front to further solidify our defensive line.”— James Gladstone, Jaguars general manager
Jordan Davis, traded from Philadelphia to Jacksonville on Nov. 9, 2026. Photo by Philadelphia Eagles, resized.Jordan Davis, defensive tackle
The biggest price came last. Davis, 26, was Philadelphia’s first-round pick out of Georgia in 2022, No. 13 overall. Unlike Bates and Godchaux, he is not a rental: he is under contract through 2029, with $18.9 million, $26 million and $26 million due from 2027 through 2029.
In nine games this season he had 31 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three run stuffs.
Money due to Davis, by season
Liam Coen speaks after the win at Baltimore, Nov. 5, 2026. Still from Jacksonville Jaguars video, resized.The bill: five picks
Three players cost Jacksonville five draft picks across three drafts. The Davis deal accounts for the two most valuable ones.
- To Philadelphia, for Davis.
- To Atlanta, for Bates.
- To Atlanta, for Bates.
- To New Orleans, for Godchaux. It moves up to 2027 if the Jaguars acquire a 2027 sixth-rounder.
- To Philadelphia, for Davis.
“The opportunity to get, arguably, a top-5 player at this position to continue to help us evolve and ascend was the whole point of it all.”— Liam Coen, on Bates
The Jaguars’ 33-10 win at Baltimore, Nov. 5, 2026. Still from NFL game highlights, resized.Tennessee next
Coen said getting Bates ready is mostly about language, not football: the checks, motions and calls between plays. The first test is at Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. Cairo time. The Jaguars then visit the Giants in Week 11.
“It's more the checks and balances in between plays, the communication from two-by-two to three-by-one, the motions, the checks, our verbiage.”— Liam Coen
A safety, a nose tackle and a defensive tackle in one day. The Jaguars already had the league’s best point differential and turnover margin. On Monday they spent a first-round pick, two seconds and two late picks to replace two lost starters and add a young lineman signed through 2029.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.