Throughout the offseason, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Ethan Greenberg and Randy Lange will each give their predictions to a series of questions regarding this year's Jets.
Today's question: What do you think about the recent NFL trades and their impact on the Jets' draft?
EA: In what seemed like a minute last week, we witnessed two trades that ultimately landed the 49ers, the Dolphins and the Eagles the No. 3, the No. 6 and the No. 12 picks. San Francisco vaulted itself into the QB market, Miami gained more assets, and Philadelphia dropped out of the top 10. The Eagles collected picks in a multi-pick swap with the 'Fins that saw the Eagles add a 2022 first-round pick. None of those clubs jumped the Jets' positioning at No. 2 overall as it seems a near certainty that the player taken No. 1 overall by Jacksonville will be Clemson signal-caller Trevor Lawrence. The Jets continue to have options and that includes taking the best player on their board not named Lawrence. Our esteemed Randy Lange penned a must read recently about what the Jets' could get for the No. 2 overall pick and this was one of many lines that stood out:, "History tells us that if the Green & White decide to deal that prime pick, they should get a haul, especially if they ship it to a team that plans to spend it on a quarterback. Yes, the famous/infamous 'QB Draft Surcharge.' " While I do the think the AFC East is getting better 1-4 ,and the Dolphins continue to do a fine job building, the Jets hold the cards at the top of the draft and that hasn't changed. Get your top target or pile up the picks.
EG:When the 49ers traded with the Dolphins, moving up from No. 12 overall to No. 3 overall, my first thoughts were: Well, the race for QBs got a lot hotter and the Dolphins are set up for a long time in terms of draft capital. The Jets have always been in the driver's seat because it's assumed Trevor Lawrence will be the No. 1 overall pick. That leaves the Jets with their pick of the litter. If a team falls in love with one of the other signal-callers, they most likely now have to jump up to No. 2 and strike a deal with the Jets. GM Joe Douglas could receive a king's ransom. But if Douglas wants to stay put, he has his pick. If there's a QB run picks 1-3, that pushes out the top players closer to the Dolphins, who traded with the Eagles up to No. 6 after their trade with the Niners. Miami was likely to take a playmaker or offensive linemen at No. 3 and still have that chance at No. 6. If there are four QBs selected in the top 5, the Fins would have a bevy of options, whether it's a WR like Ja'Marr Chase, Devonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle, TE Kyle Pitts or OT Penei Sewell. The trade doesn't affect the Jets in the short term unless someone comes calling for No. 2. It affects the Green & White in the long run because Miami, a 10-6 team in 2020, has two first-round picks in two of the next three years.
RL:Blockbuster trades have the potential of rippling throughout the first round of the draft, but I don't see the Jets being affected unless they deal Sam Darnold before the draft or keep Darnold and trade down from No. 2. If the unlikely happens and the Jaguars trade down from No. 1, the team that trades up either will take QB Trevor Lawrence, leaving the Jets' options unchanged, or will take another QB, in which case the Jets will be adding Lawrence to their value board along with the players already there. If Darnold remains with the Green & White, they could well opt not for the top QB on their board but for perhaps Oregon T Penei Sewell or LSU WR Ja'Marr Chase. The Dolphins' maneuvering from No. 3 to 12 to 6 won't have an impact on the Jets unless they were to trade down past 6 to, say, the Panthers at 8 or the Broncos at 9. But we'll set aside those calculations unless and until they happen closer to Round 1 on April 29.
