The New York Jets stole the show at the 2025 trade deadline when they traded two pro-bowl players in cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Beyond that, they apparently listened on just about every other veteran player on the roster with one exception if reports are to be believed.
So why might that be? Because the answer to that might give us some insight into what the Jets mindset currently is. For me, there is one really obvious answer: the New York Jets are preparing to take a quarterback, probably in the 2026 draft given where they’re likely to pick.
Now why do I think that? Well because they specifically unloaded on defense, opting to remove their two best players. By comparison, Wilson, arguably the most important piece that the Jets would have to support a young quarterback, wasn’t even on the table for a discussion. That’s a stark contrast that probably says a lot about how the Jets are currently viewing the importance of offense and defense. While they could wait till after the 2026 season, it’s completely within the realm of possibility that they don’t end up picking high enough to have their choice of quarterback, which could leave them dealing off the very resources that they just traded away so much talent to get. Given that, I’d assume the plan is to take a quarterback this year, even if they plan to sit him for a year while current quarterback Justin Fields’ contract plays out its course.
Who the quarterback they draft will be remains to be seen. Honestly, the Jets may not even know yet with so much of the college season still yet to go.
If I had to guess though, **and I say this completely as a guess,** the Jets are probably higher on South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers than many others will be. It’s worth noting that past behavior usually helps predict future behavior, and the Jets paid a lot of money to quarterback Justin Fields basically essentially just because of how athletic he was; I assume this is a signal of how they value athleticism at the position. In Sellers’ case, the athletic traits are really impressive as he has a cannon for an arm and some wicked mobility. Moreover, the other quarterbacks at the top of the class don’t come with that same athletic pedigree, and I think that’s going to be an important factor for who General Manager Darren Mougey and Head Coach Aaron Glenn opt to build around.
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