Jaguars ranked as the top trade destination for Saints WR Michael Thomas

Jacksonville’s receiver group is far from a weakness on the team. D.J. Chark is coming off a bit of a slump in 2020, but with a new quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, he’s expected to bounce back to his 1,000-yard ways. He’s joined in the receiver room by Laviska Shenault Jr., who showed great promise as a rookie, and Marvin Jones Jr., a free-agent acquisition from Detroit who nearly had 1,000 yards himself last year.

Behind those players, the team has a good deal of depth between Collin Johnson, Phillip Dorsett and the newly acquired Laquon Treadwell, who has impressed in training camp and is battling for a roster spot.

Still, the Jaguars could potentially do more if they wanted to. They had the most cap space in the league this offseason, and even after making a lot of value pickups in free agency, the team still leads the league in cap space. And the potential to add a superstar player is still on the table.

New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas has solidified himself as one of the NFL’s top pass-catchers. He had 1,725 yards in 2019, but coming off an injury-riddled 2020 season and with a new starting quarterback in either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill, Thomas has indicated he could be looking for a change of scenery.

He reportedly ignored calls from Saints officials for months after the season ended, and it has been a year since it was reported that New Orleans could be willing to move him.

It seems Thomas is unhappy, and he could find greener pastures in Jacksonville. According to CBS Sports, the Jaguars are the top trade option for Thomas.

Jacksonville spent a ton on mostly middling free agents this spring, but the team still has more than enough cap space (an NFL-best $30M) to be bold. They’re out of the NFC, which would put the Saints more at ease. They need any true weapons for Trevor Lawrence they can get, even with D.J. Chark established as a starting WR. And best of all, their new coach just happens to be Urban Meyer, who oversaw Thomas’ emerging stardom at Ohio State and drew an eyebrow-raising endorsement from Thomas this year.

Thomas’ five-year, $96.3 million contract may scare some teams off, but it includes no guaranteed money after 2021. The Jaguars could certainly afford to bring him on if they wanted to.

It’s fair to say the team feels confident with its current receiver group, and tying up a lot of cap space in a position that isn’t a pressing need may not make a lot of sense for the Jags, especially with bigger holes at tight end and trade options like Zach Ertz potentially available at the position.

However, no pass-catcher currently on the roster has as high a ceiling as Thomas, and giving Lawrence an elite top target (whenever Thomas returns from his ankle injury) would be quite an enticing proposition.

But considering there’s no indication that the Saints are currently shopping Thomas, it seems like a longshot that any deal happens, at least before the beginning of the season.