The New York Jets correctly decided to stand pat at the NFL trade deadline. Here’s why that mentality saved the team moving forward.
Sometimes, doing nothing is the right thing. Is it sexy? Not necessarily. But sexy doesn’t pay the bills either.
The New York Jets are tired of winning offseasons and headlines and that’s something I’m completely okay with.
The NFL trade deadline came and passed on Tuesday afternoon and the commonality was contenders adding pieces for a championship run:
- The Philadelphia Eagles added a missing piece on offense in Golden Tate.
- The Houston Texans replaced Will Fuller on the roster with the addition of veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
- Los Angeles added a star pass rusher in Dante Fowler Jr. to a talented Rams defense.
The last move was one many Jets fans hoped the team would make and they almost did, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
While it’s 100 percent factual that the green and white desperately needed a pass rusher, it wasn’t worth it at the expense of premium draft picks. So thank goodness the Jets stepped out of the bidding before things got serious.
The Rams gave up third and fifth round draft choices respectively for a player in a contract year (Fowler Jr.). The Rams are chasing a championship. That can be rationalized. That can’t be said for the Jets. They simply aren’t there yet and that’s okay.
Why is that okay? Two words.
Sam Darnold.
Sam Darnold
The Jets finally have a franchise quarterback and he’s shown glimpses throughout the 2018 season. His pro-player comparison has always been future Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Romo and he had the pleasure of calling the Jets vs. Chicago Bears game this past Sunday for CBS and he came away impressed.
Playing QB is all about spatial awareness and having an innate feel.@tonyromo says Sam Darnold has it all. pic.twitter.com/BpS9tawuiy
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 30, 2018
The Jets owe it to themselves to be judicious with not only their cap space but their draft capital as well. History speaks for itself. Winning teams build through the draft, not through desperation at the NFL trade deadline.
While that may disappoint some fans in the present, it’ll be worth it in the long run. Now that the trade deadline is behind us, here is how the Jets 2019 draft capital currently stands:
- First-round pick.
- Two third-round picks (one by way of the Teddy Bridgewater trade to New Orleans).
- Fourth-round pick.
- Fifth-round pick.
- Seventh-round pick.
They lost their 2019 second round pick in the Sam Darnold deal and their 2019 sixth round pick sending it back to New Orleans in the Bridgewater deal.
The Jets have several holes to fill on the roster including the aforementioned edge rusher, offensive line, cornerback depth, and wide receivers. Despite all the holes on the roster, it’s not hopeless.
In fact, with Darnold at the helm, the future is full of hope. Over the course of his rookie contract, the Jets have a legitimate championship window that they can take advantage of and with nearly $100 million in cap space and the draft compensation we already mentioned, this team is in prime position to make noise in 2019.
