DOWN ON DEALING
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan has made it clear for the past two months he would like to trade down in next week’s NFL draft and acquire more picks.
That might not be so easy to do in the first round.
The problem for the Jets could be a glut of players who teams all have graded about the same. The top of this year’s draft is considered to be Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett and then everyone else.
“I wouldn’t be overly confident if I was a Jets fan that you’re going to be able to get a deal to be able to move back,” ESPN draft guru Todd McShay said.
Typically, quarterbacks are the players teams trade up for. If the pre-draft reports are to be believed, none of the top-rated quarterbacks have teams inspired to move up. There is some thought the Browns, who have the first and 12th picks in the first round, might want to take Garrett at No. 1, then grab North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Would they have to move up to do it? Maybe.
The Jets have been linked to Trubisky after they held a private workout with him at Chapel Hill, N.C., and brought him to Florham Park for a visit. If the Browns believe the Jets’ interest is real, they could try to leapfrog the Jets by trading with the Titans, who have the fifth pick. They also could try to make a deal with the Jets. Cleveland has 11 picks in this draft, and could give the Jets a nice package to move up. The website walterfootball.com reported the Jets and Browns already have discussed a trade. That makes sense because Maccagnan has said he calls nearly every team in the run-up to the draft to discuss trade scenarios.
Browns general manager Sashi Brown said his team, which stockpiled picks last year, might be willing to deal some picks this year.
“We are open to it,” Brown said Wednesday. “Generally, we value picks. We think no matter how prepared you are there is always a lot of uncertainty in the draft. Every team misses. We are not going to be different in that regard. We like young talent. We have said the draft is going to be the pipeline. We don’t want to get into a habit of turning two picks into one, so to speak. We just don’t think that is a good way to do business over time. We have studied this around the league, and it is just our inclination. It does not mean that if there is a player there, we might not go take a shot. We think we are positioned to be able to do that without impacting our draft much.”
If no one is dying to draft a quarterback, then the chances of a trade down for the Jets really sink.
“Why am I going to move up for [LSU safety] Jamal Adams and give away a secondor a third-round pick when I can get [Ohio State safety] Malik Hooker?” McShay said. “Why am I going to move up for [Alabama defensive lineman] Jonathan Allen or [Stanford defensive lineman] Solomon Thomas and give away a second- or thirdround pick when I can get the other guy? There’s too many players in a similar grade area for teams to be willing to give up stuff to go move up.”