Insider Reveals Jets Draft Trade ‘Rumblings’: ‘Keep an Eye On’

Getty New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas answering questions at the NFL Combine.

Joe Douglas is ready to make some history in 2024.

Rich Cimini of ESPN said he has been hearing “little rumblings” that the New York Jets are interested in trading down in the first round.

“That is something you definitely want to watch for. Little rumblings we hear you know from covering the team. [Trading down in round 1] that is something you definitely want to write down & keep an eye on,” Cimini told Connor of NY Flight Jets Talk.

Since taking over the Jets in 2019, Joe Douglas has never traded down in the first round.

Cimini Explains Jets Potential Thought Process in Upcoming 2024 NFL Draft

In a column posted by ESPN on Tuesday, January 23 NFL nation reporters with top-10 picks were asked to answer one big question looking ahead for the teams they cover and how they could approach the draft selection.

Cimini said if the top two offensive tackles are off the board by the time the Jets pick, “perhaps they could trade down for a second-tier tackle, recouping a second-round pick in the process.”

The Jets have six total picks in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft. They don’t have a second-rounder because of the blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers from last offseason to acquire Aaron Rodgers.

In Mel Kiper Jr’s big board for ESPN, he has four offensive linemen inside his top-20 overall big board. Two of those hog mollys reside in the top 10 of his big board.

It appears the consensus top offensive tackles in this class according to the experts are Joe Alt out of Notre Dame and Olumuyiwa Fashanu out of Penn State.

Alt has the higher floor with his technique “on a snap-to-snap basis,” Kiper said.

While Fashanu “has the size, footwork, and physical traits teams want in a high-end left tackle. He moves effortlessly and with urgency, getting his hands on second-level defenders with ease,” Kiper explained. “The exciting part? Fashanu is still developing. He has started just 21 career games and turned 21 years old in December.”

Potential Trade-Down Packages for the Jets to Consider in the 2024 NFL Draft

If the Jets’ goal is to recoup a second-round pick in this class they should have the opportunity to do so.

I studied the NFL draft value chart to see what the shortest distance the Jets would have to trade down to get a second-round draft choice in this class.

The first possibility is the Jacksonville Jaguars who hold the No. 17 overall pick. If you paired that selection with their second-round draft choice (No. 48 overall) it would equal 1,370 points. Gang Green’s No. 10 overall pick is worth 1,300 points.

It wouldn’t be exactly an even swap so the Jets might have to throw in a fourth-rounder (No. 112 overall) which is worth 70 points to make it an exact fit. Although the NFL draft value chart is more of a guideline than a hard-fast rule when it comes to trades. Perhaps a desperate Jaguars team wouldn’t care about the loss in value because they wanted a certain prospect.

However, the trade that would be the perfect trade when you match up value would be the Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincy holds the No. 18 overall pick and the No. 49 overall pick in this draft class. The combination of those assets is worth 1,310 points. That would be a near-ideal match between the two teams so the Jets wouldn’t have to add any additional draft compensation to the deal.