According to one analyst, the New York Jets have a chance to “turn [the] 2024 NFL Draft upside down”.
Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report cooked up five trades that would throw a “wrench” into how the first round of April’s draft is scheduled to play out.
New York Jets receive: a 2024 first-rounder (No. 16 overall), a 2024 third-rounder (No. 76 overall), a 2024 third-round draft choice (No. 78 overall), and a 2025 fourth-rounder
Seattle Seahawks receive: a 2024 first-rounder (No. 10 overall)
In this proposed scenario, Fowler explained that Seattle would be looking to move up in round one to select a quarterback of the future.
“Landing in a city like Seattle is the type of atmosphere Michael Penix Jr. could thrive in quickly,” Fowler added. “Staying home in the Pacific Northwest wouldn’t be a bad gig for the Heisman runner-up in Penix, either.
This Would Be the Perfect Scenario for the Jets on Draft Day
The Jets have limited assets with only five picks in the 2024 NFL draft. There is a chance they could add three more via the compensatory pick formula but those are all projected to be seventh-rounders.
Although this proposed trade would allow the Jets to slide back a few spots and pick up a bevy of extra selections in the process.
The green and white’s No. 10 overall pick is worth 1,300 points. The combination of picks Seattle would be sending is worth 1,470 points, per the NFL draft value chart.
Gang Green is winning the trade according to points, but the value chart is more a guideline than a hard-fast rule. You have to account for the desperation of a team on draft day and in this case, the Seahawks want a quarterback so they’d be paying a tax for that.
That is what New York should be hoping for on draft day. The three teams behind the Jets at No. 11, No. 12, and No. 13 all could be interested in the quarterback market. If the right guy starts slipping down the board, the Jets could create a mini-bidding war between them.
Those teams would be the Minnesota Vikings, the Denver Broncos, and the Las Vegas Raiders respectively.
In this proposed deal from Bleacher Report, New York would then have four picks inside the top 100 for Jets general manager Joe Douglas to work with.
Jets Can Play the Board on Draft Day
This trade wouldn’t directly solve the Jets’ problems with the lack of a second-round draft choice. However, it would increase the flexibility of their options.
If they combined the pair of third-rounders from Seattle they could swap that straight up for the No. 49 overall pick in the second round. It’s an exact match according to the draft value chart.
Connor Rogers of NBC Sports explained on “Badlands” that the Jets just want to play the board on draft day. If the Jets are on the clock in the first round and they still have multiple players on their board they could trade back and still get one of their guys.
Douglas has been aggressive in the past when trading up for players that he values. He did it with Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jermaine Johnson, and Breece Hall. What he hasn’t ever done as the Jets GM is trade back in round one. There is never a better time than the present to make history.