It seems like every year New York Jets fans are asked to debate the same question. That is, should they root for the team “tank” to improve their draft selections, or to win every game left on the schedule. And after shipping away both Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline, the question remains as relevant as ever. For many NY Jets fans, and media, those moves indicated the team has given up on trying to be competitive this season.
Not so fast.
In the ensuing week, the Jets defeated the Cleveland Brown, and there was an instant split between most fans. Some were angered that the team “hurt” their draft stock, while others were excited to see the team continue to put up elevated performances despite clear hindrances.
So the question remains, should the Jets tank? Or, should they continue to try and win-out going forward?
NY Jets: To Tank, or Not to Tank - That is the Question
What are the Pros to Tanking?
For those who prefer the NY Jets tank the 2025 season away, there are some net positives - depending how you look at it.
The first is that high draft picks have high trade value. So far, we’ve seen general manager Darren Mougey put an emphasis on acquiring picks in the 2026 and 2027 NFL draft. Yet, if the Jets don’t see themselves ready to rely on a rookie quarterback in 2026, there’s a chance the team could look to trade back in the first round. One could look to last year as an easy example.
In last year’s draft, the Cleveland Browns traded with the Jacksonville Jaguars, moving on from their No. 2 overall selection. Cleveland also gave up a fourth and fifth-round selection in the 2025 draft. In return, they received Jacksonville’s No. 5 overall selection, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick. However, they also received a first-round pick for the following year’s draft. More important to note, is that the trade did not involve movement for a quarterback. That variable could increase the value of a draft pick exponentially, depending on the team.
The second potential positive is that when “tanking”, there’s opportunity to see what you have in your younger players. Now, this isn’t exclusive to just tanking. In fact, plenty of competitive teams do this, as well. Yet for losing teams, it’s easier to go down the depth chart and give a player a shot when there’s less on the line from a win-loss perspective. Sometimes, teams can find diamonds in the rough. Other times, the move may help them come to the realization the the team needs a complete overhaul.
What are the Cons to Tanking?
While there are a few positives that could come with tanking, there are a lot more negatives.
The first, and probably most important, is that it’s not easy to turn an NFL team around with just one player. The NFL isn’t the NBA, and rosters are much larger, with more responsibility on players doing their individual parts than superstar performances putting a team over the top. Now, that can happen, but usually only when the rest of the roster is well-built. Some teams get lucky in that regard, like the Colts had with Andrew Luck when Peyton Manning went down. Unfortunately for the Jets, their roster needs are fair greater at the moment.
Another con to tanking is that it can create a losing culture. For NY Jets fans, they’ve already seen this at length. When a team continuously loses and is at the top-end of every draft, players, coaches, and personnel start to have that losing “stink”. That is, folding at the slightest hint of adversity.
When top picks start to follow that same rut, it quite literally creates a losing culture. The, “here we go again” thoughts once a lead is blown, their quarterback throws an interception, or an assignment is missed. As those players age, that mindset rubs off on the younger players being brought in, creating a continuous cycle. And for some franchises, that’s much harder to shake off than anything else.
The final con to tanking is that nothing is guaranteed. Sure, the draft selections can be high. However, the organization has to have a scouting team that works hand-in-hand with not just the general manager, but to the needs of the coaches. Drafting square pegs to fit in round holes only furthers dysfunction, and promotes incompetency.
Scouts are given a general list of players to look at each season. However, it’s up to the scout to help find diamonds in the rough that can help potentially turn the franchise around.
Final Verdict: Should the NY Jets Tank?
It’s always fun to root for the higher draft pick and options that come along with it. However, the Jets should look to play competitive football rather than lose games.
First-year head coach Aaron Glenn needs to continue building his culture the right way. Sure, that means the team could lose. However, more importantly, the group needs to perform the way he wants them too. There’s nuance in every coach’s scheme, and there’s certain character traits they look for, too. Glenn needs to make sure he can find pinpoint “his guys” who can help build the future, while remaining competitive in the process.
Yet perhaps more important to anything related to the current team, is history itself. The NY Jets have been one of the worst franchises since 2010. They have the longest playoff drought throughout all major North American sports, and are the butt of nearly every joke amongst casual fans. Yet even worse, is what seems like the perpetual tank of the team every season.
It seems like every year New York Jets fans are asked to debate the same question.
There was a reason that was the opening line of this article. That’s because when looking for data, I came across an ESPN “tank guide” from the 2017 NFL season. And sure enough, New York is listed as the first team who could be tanking for that year. And if there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that perpetual losing seasons have not helped the Jets become a winning franchise.
Instead, the team has found itself in a black hole of mediocre with seemingly no way out. Chants of tanking for generational prospects that turn out to be mediocre can only quench the thirst of enthusiasm for so long.
At some point, true culture needs to be instilled. Otherwise, with help from the New York media, the Jets will continue to be one of the primary punching bags in the NFL.