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Some have been banging the drum that the Jets need to add a wide receiver high in the draft, or perhaps trade for Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas, who might not be available.
Jaguars GM James Gladstone recently called the Thomas trade rumors “fraudulent.”
At the NFL owners’ meeting, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and General Manager Darren Mougey both shot down this manufactured narrative driven by either misguided observers or others just trying to pander to the sector of the fan base that thinks receiver is a huge need.
Both Mougey and Glenn said they “like where our receiver room is.”
The Jets have Garrett Wilson, one of the highest-paid receivers in the league, as their #1 receiver, and opposite him, Adonai Mitchell, a former Indianapolis Colts second-round pick acquired in the Sauce Gardner trade. Mitchell has a great size-speed ratio.
They also have underrated Isaiah Williams, a nifty slot receiver, and Arian Smith, who has world-class speed. It’s hard to know what they have in Smith since they hardly threw to him last year.
And this takes us to why this narrative about the Jets lacking receiving talent is bogus: They had QB issues last year.
The people who are quick to point out how low the Jets receivers’ reception numbers were last year conveniently leave out these QB issues.
If you are going to criticize receivers for not putting up impressive numbers, and leave out who was throwing them the ball, you are either not a very good football analyst, or just leaving it out to push an agenda.
There is an old saying, “Stats are like hostages, you can make them say anything you want.”
The Jets started the season with Justin Fields as their QB, and he ended his tenure leading the team under center with a 2-7 record before getting benched.
Then Tyrod Taylor went 1-3, and then Brady Cook started the last month, went 0-4, and threw just two touchdowns to seven interceptions. It’s unlikely any other team last year would have placed him at #3 as an undrafted rookie free agent entering the league with accuracy issues. Why the Jets kept him over Adrian Martinez remains a mystery.
So please spare me with blaming the Jets receivers for their lousy numbers.
In the NFL, quarterbacks make receivers; receivers don’t make quarterbacks.
If they get better QB play this year, and the receivers room isn’t getting the job done, then it’s a legit narrative that they have a receiver issue.
But based on the QB play last year, how can you assess the QB room properly?
And they also have two promising young, big receivers in the mix in Quinton Skinner and Irv Charles, who was on IR last year with a knee injury.
Of course, the Jets should add a receiver sometime after the first round, a couple of UDFAs, and perhaps add another veteran street free agent.
But stop with the nonsense about how this is a big need.
Hat-tip to Glenn and Mougey for silencing those in the media and fantasy football community for putting the made-up narrative to rest.
April 2, 2026
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