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Maybe it’s for the best . . .
Talking about ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler announcing that Houston Texans QB DeShaun Watson has cooled on playing for the Jets.
“Deshaun Watson has a list of teams he’s ‘intrigued by’ … I didn’t get all the teams, but I was told that the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers are two of them,” said Fowler on ESPN. “I was told the Jets, ‘eh probably not.'”
This is probably best for both parties involved.
Aside from him having two reconstructed knees, the Jets have so many needs, the idea of sending a boatload of premium draft picks away, seems counterproductive.
“[You] have picks two and 23 in the first round this year; 34, 66 and 87,” said ESPN’s Todd McShay. “So, five picks in the first 87. That should be at least four starters that you’re getting right there and two really impact starters with that second and 23rd overall pick.
“And then, by the way, we have two first-rounders next year, a second and a third. So, you’re talking about four first-rounders, two second-rounders and three third-rounders. Count those up. I mean, you’re building half of a roster right there in the next two drafts.”
And they would have give up, perhaps three of those first-round picks for Watson, and perhaps Quinnen Williams, because word has it, the Texans want a star player in return, probably on defense.
And let’s not forget, if you trade for Watson, you are taking on his enormous contract, so that would also eat up cap space that could be used for free agents.
For a team with so many needs, it truly doesn’t make a ton of sense, to send away a bunch of high draft picks, and eat into your money to spend on free agents, to acquire a QB, with two surgical knees, who has proven to be a guy who can sneak you into the playoffs, and maybe win a game.
Also, not sure Watson and the Jets’ owner would be a great marriage, just like he’s not a great marriage with Cal McNair. I will leave it at that.
So Fowler’s information, which likely came from the agent, might be a blessing in disguise.
But perhaps “blessing in disguise” is a misleading term, because that kind of connotes that the Jets were truly interested in trading for Watson, and none of us knows that to be true. The connection of the Jets to Watson was all media driven. There’s no evidence that Joe Douglas was interested in trading for Watson. The Jets connection to Watson was strictly guesswork.
The Jets need to re-build the right way, which as one GM once described it – “draft, develop and re-sign.”
No more quick fixes.
And now with a GM who is a big-time evaluator of talent, they have an opportunity to take all these premium draft picks, and build a really strong team, as long as ownership stands clear, and let’s Douglas do his thing.
With Robert Saleh on board as coach, with a staff loaded with good teachers, the “develop” part should be very strong moving forward.
The beauty of having so many high draft picks is these players will all be locked up for four years at manageable cap numbers.
In a year with the cap doing down, teams are focused like a laser on nailing their draft picks, to assure they have plenty of reasonably priced talent.
So the Jets, with so many high picks, are the envy of a lot of other teams this year.
February 17, 2021
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