3 Teams Jaguars Should Leverage in Ashton Jeanty Draft Trade

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a ton of draft rumors swirling around them as we march closer to Thursday's first-round pick.

There have been plenty of dots connecting the Jaguars to both Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham. Jeanty has been the popular name as of late, and the Jaguars should use that to their advantage.

If the Jaguars can convince the rest of the NFL that they are in the Jeanty business, it could mean the Jaguars managing to leverage a favorable trade come Thursday.

So, which teams should the Jaguars target as potential trade partners in this regard? Here are three who make sense.

Las Vegas Raiders

This one is obvious. The Raiders have been connected to Jeanty throughout the entire draft process, and they certainly did nothing to quiet that talk last week when they had their general manager and head coach essentially gush over the Boise State star.

If the Raiders are dead set on leaving the draft with Jeanty, they could be convinced that the only way to do so is by swapping spots with the Jaguars. It would be a cheap trade since it is only one slot, and the Jaguars could still get one of their top targets. Imagine the Jaguars picking up a Day 3 pick and still landing Mason Graham?

Chicago Bears

This pick would a little steeper because the Bears are picking down at No. 10, but there is certainly plenty of smoke when it comes to their potential interest in Jeanty and his talent.

"There are multiple personnel people who believe the Bears are praying that Jeanty slips to them at No. 10. They think new Bears coach Ben Johnson could feature Jeanty and D'Andre Swift as a two-headed duo the way the Lions did with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs when Johnson was Detroit's offensive coordinator," ESPN's Adam Schefter said this week.

It certainly seems like the Bears would be taking a risk by letting the Raiders have a shot at drafting Jeanty. If the Bears want to ensure they don't lose out on the chance to draft him, they would need to get in front of Vegas -- and they could do that in a deal with the Jaguars.

Denver Broncos

This one would be interesting. The Denver Broncos are picking all the way down at No. 20 overall, but Sean Payton has never been scared to be aggressive before. The Broncos already added a move tight end that Payton has long desired. Could they now get the workhorse running back he wants?

It helps that, as of today, the Broncos seem like one of the few teams in the NFL who have already expressed interest in moving up in the first round.

"There has been, however, a lack of teams willing to trade up -- at least so far. Denver is one of those: The Broncos have made inquiries about moving up in Round 1, according to sources. But there aren't many others. This always could change when players start falling and teams are on the clock," Schefter said.