The New York Jets traded cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the NFL trade deadline.
In return, the Jets acquired multiple first-round draft picks for 2026 and 2027, among other assets.
These trades signal a major rebuild for the 1-7 Jets, who are now without their top defensive players.
The team has accumulated significant draft capital to address its long-standing quarterback issues and reconstruct the roster.
A yard sale sign outside the New York Jets’ Florham Park team facility would’ve been appropriate.
Everything (almost) must go.
That’s precisely the message the 1-7 Jets sent at the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline when they sent cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. And moments later, shipped defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
The Jets have two first-round and two second-round picks in the 2026 draft and three first-round picks in the 2027 draft after the trades.
The moves represent a calculated gamble by Jets general manager Darren Mougey that were undoubtedly greenlit by head coach Aaron Glenn and owner Woody Johnson.
The good news is the Jets have enough draft capital to get a top quarterback in either the 2026 or 2027 draft, and have enough premium picks to select other impact players.
Mougey and the Jets realize the quarterback position has held the team back for years. The Jets haven’t had a QB earn a Pro Bowl invitation since Brett Favre in 2008. New York currently has the worst passing offense in the NFL and Justin Fields ranks in the bottom half of the league in most major quarterback statistical categories.
Johnson even announced New York’s ineptitude at the quarterback position when he threw Fields under the bus last month.
The bad news is the Jets essentially have no blue-chip players left on defense. Gardner has not allowed more than two receptions to a single receiver in a game this season and has forced a tight window on 52% of his targets, the highest rate of any player targeted at least 20 times in coverage, per Next Gen Stats. Williams’ 190 pressures since 2022 are the fourth most among defensive tackles in that span. Gardner and Williams were linchpins on a Jets top-five defense from 2022-2024.
Mougey and Glenn have the tough task of reconstructing what was once a top-five defense while simultaneously renovating an offense that features just wide receiver Garrett Wilson as a foundational skill position player.
Buckle up for the long-haul, Jets fans. It’s a multi-year job for Mougey and Glenn. Tuesday’s fire sale was a proclamation that the Jets are in another rebuild.
Mougey and Glenn have plenty of draft assets in the next two drafts to construct the roster they envision.
Time will determine whether the Jets won the two blockbuster trades. But bold moves are necessary for a franchise that harbors the longest active playoff drought in the NFL.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
