This is a really good idea

It’s a concept that makes a ton of sense

And could help the Jets land three quality starters in the first round.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who is very close with Joe Douglas, and is very attuned to his thinking, floated an idea for a Sam Darnold trade that would be good for the Jets, and the team that trades for him.

The idea involves teams that need a QB like Denver, Carolina and San Francisco, who pick 8, 9 and 12, respectively, in the first round. The trade concept would involve Darnold, and the Jets pick at the top of the second round, at 34.

“When you look at the teams picking 8, 9, and 12, when you look at Carolina, you look at Denver, you look at San Francisco, I think all three of those teams could make sense as trade partners for Sam Darnold if they decided to go that route,” Jeremiah said. “I know people say, Well, there’s no way they’re trading a top 12 pick for Sam. No, but I think here’s a way you could work something out there where you attach Sam with another pick. To me I’d be trying to figure out a way where you could do Sam and pick 34 and see if that would do it, to get all the way back up there in the top 8, 9, or 12 position.”

This really is a great idea. It’s going to be hard to land a first-round pick for Darnold based on his inconsistent play, but to give the other team a high second-round pick, which is like a first-round pick, because players with first-round grades on every team’s board, are going to slip, could be a win-win. Remember, every team has a different value board, so based on each team’s unique rating system, somebody with a first-round grade, will slip to the top of the second round.

So to give up Darnold and pick #34, for let’s say San Francisco’s pick at 12, could make a lot of sense, and maybe Jeremiah was floating that yesterday as a favor to his friend Douglas.

If the Jets could pull off a trade like this, they would be picking at #2, #12 and #23, and could land three quality starters in the first round, let’s say a QB, CB and edge-rusher, Or maybe a coverage linebacker, like Penn State’s Micah Parsons or Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Getting a big-time coverage linebacker is a huge need for the Jets, considering their issues covering tight ends and running backs in recent years.

Douglas is not going to give away Darnold. He showed his talent as a poker player with the Jamal Adams trade, playing the waiting game until he got what he wanted.

And if he gets low-balled in trade offers, he definitely could keep Darnold, and let him play on the fourth-year of his rookie deal, which is cheap.

So this trade idea by Jeremiah, which surely Douglas is thinking about it, makes a lot of sense. The other team gets a young quarterback, with a lot of natural ability, who they think they can fix, but they also get a great pick, selection 34, where they can address another need as well.

And the Jets could end up with three potential starters in the first round.

I shared this idea with y’all, because when I saw it, it struck me as something that makes a ton of sense, that I haven’t seen floated anywhere that I’ve seen.

March 10, 2021

Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday (these stories are often posted earlier).