'It’d hardly be a shocker' for Jaguars to trade former first-round pick

If an NFL team is in search of a low-risk reclamation project heading into the 2023 season, they may want to give the front office in Duval County a ring. On Wednesday, Albert Breer of SI.com wrote that "it'd hardly be a shocker" to see linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson traded during training camp. 

Chaisson, the No. 20 overall selection in the 2020 draft, arrived in Jacksonville with high expectations after coming off a collegiate career that saw the LSU product amass 9.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. However, the 2019 National Champion has failed to make his presence felt much throughout his three-year professional career. 

The 23-year-old edge defender has seen his usage decrease in each of the past two seasons, culminating in a career-worst 109 defensive snaps in 2022—just one more than the 108 special teams snaps he played on the year. 

In 40 career games, Chaisson has managed just 3.0 sacks. Based on his lack of production and the presence of Josh Allen and former No. 1 pick Travon Walker at outside linebacker, it's no surprise that the Jaguars opted against picking up Chaisson's fifth-year option earlier this month. 

While Jacksonville is clearly souring on Chaisson, he still remains a tantalizing prospect should he be made available for the right price. The 6-foot-3, 254-pounder fits the mold of the modern-day edge defender. Teams such as the New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears could all fit the billing as potential trade suitors for Chaisson.

The Giants have limited depth behind their promising edge duo of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, who only appeared in seven games together in 2022 due to injuries. Baltimore has opted not to re-sign their leading sack artist from a season ago, veteran Justin Houston. As for the Bears, they lack much to talk about in the pass-rushing department beyond free agent signing DeMarcus Walker, who racked up 7.0 sacks for the Titans in 2022.