JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The 2026 NFL Trade deadline is just a few weeks away, and the Jacksonville Jaguars could certainly be a big factor.

Most of the trade talk around the Jaguars understandably centers around third-year wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., but what if the Jaguars are buyers at the deadline?

The Jaguars are sitting at 4-2 and in first-place in the AFC South during their bye week, and they could reasonably look to add a potential difference-maker or depth piece at a number of positions before the trade deadline hits.

But what can the Jaguars afford when it comes to the deadline, both in terms of cap space and draft picks?

What the Jaguars Are Working With

As things stand today, the Jaguars are set to have nine picks in the 2027 NFL Draft: six of their own original selections and three picks via the compensatory draft pick system after they saw Devin Lloyd, Travis Etienne, and Greg Newsome depart in free agency. The Jaguars have used the draft compensatory formula to give themselves more at bats in the draft, as well as give themselves more chances to trade for depth pieces such as Tim Patrick last season and Daniel Faalele this season.

"I think that's something in the spring we highlighted quite a bit about the idea of going down the compensatory picks approach and not signing immediately some of the street free agents. Really where we were going to turn our attention to was during training camp and the regular season, knowing that we had a larger stock of future draft picks to utilize to answer any questions that we might need to in those moments," Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said at the conclusion of training camp this summer.

"Yeah, that gives us more flexibility to pursue those paths and those options. I think that that's an ever-evolving strategy as to whether or not you're going to deploy that one year after the next. It was where we found ourselves this past cycle, and I think that's why you probably saw some willingness there, not to say that we weren't unwilling a year ago, because we were. I think the equivalent of that was probably [WR] Tim Patrick and using a sixth-round pick to get him from Detroit. We still have avenues for pursuing those into the regular season."

When it comes to cap space, things are a bit tighter. The Jaguars can always work to create more room, but a lack of cap space now means that players on hefty deals, such as Daron Payne, may be tougher to trade for than players on their rookie deals still like Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo.

The Jaguars did some work to create cap space with restructures ahead of Week 1, and Spotrac has the Jaguars currently at $4,659,858 in available cap space, which ranks No. 25 in the NFL.

"I think that's a move to make so that we're not forced to do anything should we pursue an avenue. We want to make sure we have the flexibility we need to keep things on the table as the season progresses," Gladstone said before the season began.

"In the same breath, we're always going to do our part to consider all options, and through that lens not all those are going to come to the table or to the public's understanding. I think the understanding that we are always going to turn over every stone is certainly going to be the case."

In short, the Jaguars have plenty of flexibility before the deadline to be aggressive from a draft pick standpoint. From a cap space standpoint, a player either on their rookie deal or a cheaper contract makes the most sense.