Jaguars-Falcons trade grades: Jacksonville acquires All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III to bolster defense

On the eve of Tuesday's trade deadline, dominoes are starting to fall across the league with Week 9 largely in the books. And now, the Jaguars have acquired All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons, according to ESPN. As Bates heads to Duval County, the Falcons receive a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick in return.

Bates is in the final year of his contract and is set to be a free agent at the end of this season. While this is looked at as a rental, the 29-year-old should prove to be a key addition to Jacksonville's secondary as it looks to make a serious postseason push following a 6-2 start to the regular season.

In nine games played for the Falcons this season, Bates has recorded one interception, three forced fumbles, and 60 total tackles. The veteran has also allowed a 78.3% completion percentage to go with a 115.2 passer rating in coverage, per TruMedia.

Bates entered the NFL as a second-round draft choice of the Bengals in 2018 out of Wake Forest. After spending his first five years of his career in Cincinnati, he inked a four-year, $64.02 million contract with the Falcons in the spring of 2023 and has been lurking in their secondary ever since.

Bates is tied for the second-most interceptions (28) in the NFL since coming into the league and has been named a second-team All-Pro three times, including in 2025.

Atlanta spent last offseason inking several veterans to extensions, including Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Bates was not among them, and after dropping to 3-6 on the season with a loss to the Bengals in Madrid on Sunday, they're electing to move off of the talented safety for future draft capital.

Jessie Bates trade grades

Jaguars: B

Jacksonville gave up quite a bit to land Bates. Two picks -- particularly a second-rounder in 2027 -- is a hefty price to pay, especially considering that Bates is set to be a free agent at the end of this season. I do wonder, however, whether that price indicates that Jacksonville views Bates as more than just a rental. After all, the organization does have a history of extending players that they've acquired in midseason trades. For instance, after trading for wideout Jakobi Meyers around last year's deadline, they later signed him to a three-year, $60 million extension. I'll be curious to see if Bates follows a similar path.

Regardless of whether he's with the Jags for the next few months or years, it's a great move for the 2026 squad. Bates is one of the best safeties in the NFL. In fact, he's the player in the past 40 years with at least 800 tackles and 25 interceptions before age 30. He comes in as a premier piece for the secondary, while also deepening a safety room that has been hit by injuries, most recently losing Eric Murray for the rest of the season to an elbow injury.

Atlanta Falcons: B+

Give Atlanta the slight edge here. While they are losing a blue-chip player in their secondary, they were probably going to lose him anyway in free agency later this offseason.

The Falcons spent the bulk of last offseason extending key pieces to their core, and that did not include Bates. While the team is technically still in the division race despite a 3-6 record, it doesn't feel like this season will see them making a sizable push if/when they reach the postseason. With that in mind, it's the more prudent move to move off of Bates, get worse in the secondary in the immediate, but collect legit draft capital to position yourself better down the road.

Getting a second-rounder as part of this deal is nothing to turn your nose up at and is better than any sort of compensatory pick they'd receive if Bates walked in free agency.