What does the Stefon Diggs trade to the Houston Texans mean for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Wednesday started with reports of a monster trade in the AFC South as the Buffalo Bills are sending star wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans.

The move pairs the Texans’ talented quarterback, CJ Stroud, with another weapon and further improves the 2023 AFC South winners' roster as the 2024 NFL Draft nears.

Stroud had a breakout rookie year for Houston last season, passing for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns while only throwing five interceptions and completing 63.9 percent of his passes.

He took the league by storm and helped lead his team to the playoffs in the process.

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The Texans have been very active this offseason, already adding splash signings in Danielle Hunter and Joe Mixon along with several other impact players. Now, they’ll add one of the best receivers in the league to their roster.

Diggs, who'll turn 31 this year, has topped 1,000 yards in each of his last six seasons. Last year he caught 107 passes for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns with the Bills while appearing in all 19 games for them.

He had a rocky end to his time in Buffalo including a season-low 21 receiving yards in the playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He'll get a fresh start with the Texans and a chance to help them establish themselves as mainstays in the AFC.

This move has several direct implications on the Jaguars, with some even playing out as soon as the NFL Draft in a few weeks.

Let’s look at a few of those implications:

Jaguars almost certain to draft a cornerback in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft

Barring a trade to leap into the top 10 picks, the Jaguars are essentially set to draft a cornerback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Texans aren’t the only team who loaded up at receiver this offseason. The Titans acquired former Jaguars’ wide receiver Calvin Ridley to pair with DeAndre Hopkins.

And the Colts retained Michael Pittman, signing him to a multi-year extension to remain with the team.

Jacksonville’s defensive back room is less than ideal, currently. It consists of Tyson Campbell, Ronald Darby, Montaric Brown, Christian Braswell, Tevaughn Campbell, Gregory Junior, Amani Oruwariye and Erick Hallett II.

The team cut starter Darious Williams earlier this offseason and will need someone who can come in and play from day one.

At pick No. 17, they can find that player. Because of how top-heavy the first round is (presumably four quarterbacks and three receivers selected in the first 10 picks) the Jaguars will likely have a good selection of defensive backs to choose from when they are on the clock.

Whether it’s Kool-Aid McKinstry, Terrion Arnold, Nate Wiggins, Quinyon Mitchell or Cooper DeJean, there are good options to find a long-term staple in the secondary in the first round of the draft.

Jaguars haven’t done enough to provide Trevor Lawrence with an elite outside wide receiver

The Jaguars have an elite receiver in Christian Kirk. That should not be lost in what’s about to follow.

The team has not done enough to provide Trevor Lawrence with a true outside threat at receiver. Whether it was Marvin Jones, Zay Jones or Ridley, the team has not secured a long-term option to play outside and pair with Lawrence.

The Texans made this move in Stroud's second season. The Bengals made a similar move in Joe Burrow's second season and they made it to the Super Bowl.

Lawrence is entering his fourth year in the league and the Jaguars have yet to find an elite outside player to pair with Lawrence long-term.

Kirk and tight end Evan Engram are both elite at their positions, but they lack the vertical threat needed to stretch a defense. Ridley was close, but was a failed experiment being that he chose to sign with Tennessee this offseason.

Zay had an injury-riddled 2023 campaign and missed eight games. Marvin was an aging receiver who brought veteran leadership to the team but was not a downfield threat.

And the malpractice that occurred in Lawrence’s rookie season shouldn’t even be addressed.

The team could’ve been aggressive in the draft or traded for an outside threat prior to having to extend Lawrence.

But now, as he likely will have a contract extension before the season begins, the Jaguars are going to have to make due and likely will use the second or third rounds of the draft to find an outside target for Lawrence.

Jaguars’ window gets foggy as the AFC South gets even tougher

At the start of 2023 it seemed like the Jaguars were the young team in the AFC South who were destined to get over the hump sooner than later.

They toppled an aging Titans team to make the playoffs in 2022, with the Texans and Colts set to have rebuilds. Both teams brought in new coaches and drafted rookie quarterbacks in an effort to catch up to the strides the Jaguars made with Doug Pederson and Lawrence.

But as the 2024 season approaches it’s the Texans who’ve pushed their chips to the center of the table and are poised to show they’re the real deal.

In fact, it’s entirely possible the Jaguars will finish with the worst record in the division. And it’s a direct result of the non-aggressive approach the front office took last offseason.

Rather than going for outside signings, the Jaguars brought back pieces from their 9-8 team to try to lay a foundation. The only major addition to the team was Ridley, who spent nearly two years away from football due to mental health reasons and a gambling suspension.

Ridley added value to the team and did well in his return to football. But him opting to go elsewhere does not help Jacksonville's goals, especially with him remaining in the division.

The Jaguars brought in Gabe Davis and Devin Duvernay this offseason, but still need a long-term pair for Lawrence at receiver.

They also invested in defensive signings Arik Armstead, Ronald Darby and Darnell Savage. But with a new defensive coaching staff, it remains to be seen how effective Jacksonville’s defense will be.

What once seemed to be a clear vision of Lawrence and Pederson running the AFC South for years to come now looks a lot different. It now seems that the Jaguars have grown stagnant while other teams in the AFC South are trending upward.

Aside from the Texans, the Titans have loaded up this offseason. Making a coaching change while bringing in players like Ridley and L’Jarius Sneed to raise the floor of their team.

The Colts remain as the wildcard of the division with quarterback Anthony Richardson’s rookie season ending prematurely due to a shoulder injury. Still, they went on to win nine games last year and can’t be overlooked if Richardson has a breakout year in 2024.

Every team has a window to win. The other teams in the AFC South are making sure to fog Jacksonville’s right now and the Jaguars haven’t done much to clear it.

Juston Lewis is a Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on the website formerly known as Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What does the Stefon Diggs trade to the Texans mean for the Jaguars?