Early yesterday morning, the Atlanta Falcons got in the trade deadline spirit with a blockbuster trade that threw fans for a loop, sending former All-Pro Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
This trade instantly caused a myriad of differing opinions and suggestions about the future of the season among the fanbase. Some liked the idea of Atlanta finally accepting their fate as a rebuilding team, while others were confused by the decision to trade their best defender when they're still in it.
In search of that truth I uncovered interesting key details some may have missed during that hectic Monday. Here's what I found!
The Jessie Bates III trade helps out the Falcons more than you think
Ian Cunningham was going to have to spend on Jessie Bates III at the end of the year or let him walk for a compensatory pick.
These are picks that an NFL team's rewarded to account for losses to free agency. In short, if you lose two players deemed to be compensatory and pick up only one player, the NFL will decide to possibly give you an extra pick that ranges from third to seventh rounders. For instance, the Falcons will get 2027 compensatory picks for losing Kaden Elliss and Tyler Allgeier last offseason.
But this trade gave much more value, since the Dirty Birds weren't even going to be able to get a comp pick out of him given the amount of 2027 cap space they have. Their $149.3 million to spend after the trade leads the NFL.
That value is what Ian Cunningham was searching for, and with the Jaguars "Godfather-like" offer, the return outweighed anything Atlanta could have gotten for Bates to this point. This doesn't mark the end of Atlanta's season though, even though they are bracing to build through the draft.
Like head coach Kevin Stefanski said, "It's ok to have one foot in the short term and one foot in the long term." Atlanta's not giving up but they're also not negating the future either.
With depth such as Sydney Brown, DeMarcco Hellams, and possibly Billy Bowman Jr. fighting for the starting safety job next to Xavier Watts, it's not like the Falcons don't have a chance to continue to fight for the NFC South.
Especially with the division still up for grabs, it would be a surprise to see the Falcons punt when they're a half-game out of first place. But what about the Jags? To give away so much draft capital for an aging safety is questionable right? Looking deeper into it the answers were extremely interesting.
The Jaguars had just as much reason to trade for Jessie Bates as the Falcons did to trade him
Looking into the Jaguars GM James Gladstone, the idea of aggressive team building was one of the first things I noticed.
The 36-year-old was one of the youngest GM's when he was from the Rams. During his time with the Rams, he learned from Super Bowl-winning GM Les Snead. Snead's been a the GM for the Rams since 2012 and is known for the "F them picks" mantra after the Rams sold off most of their draft capital to win one back in 2021.
With injuries to multiple of their safeties, including Eric Murray in Week 8, the 6-2 Jaguars were in search for a star to help them win now.
This is where Atlanta comes in. Since Ian Cunningham was very open to calls on Jessie Bates III, Gladstone, who'd organized a trade that shipped Maason Smith to Atlanta in exchange for Ruke Orhorhoro earlier in the year decided to call up Cunningham after the Week 9 loss.
The trade solidified a major spot in Jaguar secondary but that wasn't all. Afterward, he contacted the Saints and Eagles, making two other deals for Davon Godchaux and superstar DT Jordan Davis, giving up a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-rounder to bring in Davis. That's some haul.
These trades bring a whole new meaning to the Bates trade, as Gladstone seemed willing to give away major draft capital for players who help the Jags win now and keep their Super Bowl window open.
As for me my hope is that they can win the Super Bowl. Hopefully we can watch Jessie Bates III take the Jaguars all the way!
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