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Former New York Jets pass rusher Haason Reddick reacting ahead of an NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The New York Jets have a chance at a mulligan.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell proposed a trade that can help right a wrong from the past.
New York Jets receive: a 2026 first-round pick (No. 4 overall), a 2026 third-round pick (No. 66 overall), and a 2027 fourth-round pick
Tennessee Titans receive: a 2026 first-round pick (No. 2 overall)
During the 2024 offseason, the Jets decided to push all of their chips in the middle of the table. One of the aggressive moves they made was striking a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for pass rusher Haason Reddick.
The Jets gave up a conditional 2026 third-round pick in the deal. Reddick didn’t come anywhere close to meeting the conditions with the Jets, so the pick remained a third-rounder going back to Philly.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini has previously called the Reddick Jets deal one of the “worst” trades in franchise history.
It was an epic disaster. Reddick was involved in a very public holdout that was a massive distraction for the team. When he eventually got on the field, Reddick didn’t play well. Another ripple effect of the trade was that the Jets were forced to give away John Franklin-Myers in a salary dump trade with the Denver Broncos.
That swap on the defensive line was a key reason the Jets team fell apart, or was at least the first major domino that started the destruction.
Chance to Save Some Face
That third-round pick got lit on fire by the Jets and now belongs to the Eagles. However, in this projected trade scenario with the Titans, the Jets would get their pick back, channeling their inner Sonny Weaver Jr from “Draft Day.”
“General manager Darren Mougey has plenty of draft capital after trading away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, but teams can never have too many premium picks. The Jets can also use their Day 1 and Day 2 selections to move around the board and grab the players they want,” Barnwell wrote.
“New York might be more agnostic about which of those defensive players it lands, and at No. 4, it could still ensure that it lands a difference-maker in the front seven,” Barnwell said. “There won’t be a huge demand to trade up in the top 10 here, which is why the price would be relatively muted.”
According to the NFL draft value chart, the No. 2 overall pick is worth 2,600 points. The combo of picks from the Titans is worth 2,250 points. That is a sizable 350-point difference in value, which is the equivalent of a late second-round pick.
Why Acquiring a 3rd Round Pick Is so Important…
The Jets have four picks inside the top 44 in April’s draft. That is more picks than the typical team has.
However, the Jets are missing their third-rounder this year. A lot of fans have complained about that void in the draft and have urged the team to do something about it. Some fans don’t think it’s that big of a deal, considering the other picks they have at their disposal.
The Jets pick at No. 44 in the second round. The next time they make a selection is at No. 103 overall in the fourth round.
That is a 59 gap between selections. NFL draft analyst Drew Beatty has explained to me on “Boy Green Daily” that the sweet spot of the draft is in that third-round range. If the Jets stick-and-pick, they will miss that grouping of players entirely.
Replacing that Reddick selection in the third round would put the Jets in a much better position during the draft.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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