The Jets pulled off a second blockbuster trade on Tuesday, dealing Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys for a massive package including a future first-round pick, according to multiple reports.
It’s not as shocking as the trade that sent two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts earlier in the afternoon. But it’s still a deal that will shake the foundation of the franchise and play a huge role in shaping its future.
Here are the terms of the deal, per The Athletic which had the details first: the Jets get a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
After both deals, the Jets are loaded up with premium picks in the NFL draft over the next two years: they have two first-round picks and two second round picks in 2026, and three first-round picks in 2027.
At 27, Williams is just entering his prime and has clearly been unsatisfied with the sustained losing since the Jets drafted him No. 3 overall back in 2019. The Jets’ longest tenured-player has grown frustrated with the constant losing over his first six seasons with the team (his first year was coach Adam Gase’s first year), frustration that he made public when criticized the new regime on social for not keeping quarterback Aaron Roders back in February.
He wasn’t going to be any happier after the Jets got worse Tuesday when they dealt Gardner. So the trade isn’t a shocker. But it’s massive and puts the Jets at the center of one of the most eventful trade deadline days in NFL history.
Williams is just entering his prime at 27, he seems to have recovered from a slight blip in his play, and he’s one of the best in the league at his position, a guy who can make an immediate difference on a contender.
Wilson was also heading into the final year of his contract in 2027, so the timing of a deal made sense as well. The only question was if the Jets would get the compensation they were asking for. And Dallas answered that on Tuesday.
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