STOCK & TRADE
There is a new “Trader Mike” with the Jets.
General manager Mike Maccagnan made three trades on Day 3 of the NFL draft, bringing his total to five in this draft, a franchise record. Maccagnan kept trading back to accumulate more picks to help his talent-starved roster. He also acquired a pick in next year’s draft.
“We were very busy today,” Maccagnan said.
In terms of player acquisition, the Jets added six players Saturday to bring their total to nine in the draft. They entered the draft with seven picks, a number Mac- cagnan was open about hoping to increase. He was able to do that with a number of deals. Former general manager Mike Tannenbaum had the nickname “Trader Mike,” but he loved trading up for players, not back.
We will know in time whether this was a strong plan or a flimsy one. It will depend on how many players develop out of their midand late-round picks and if any of the players they passed up on develop into stars.
“The goal of any draft you go into is to add as many good prospects as you can add,” Maccagnan said. “Obviously, time will tell how they do. We’re excited about the guys we added. I think, to a certain degree, we’ve added some good, young players that hopefully will be the foundation of what we’re trying to build and achieve here. We’ve talked about building through the draft. I think some of the players we’ve added hopefully will have a lot of success here and help us get to where we want to go.”
After trading back twice in the third round Friday, Maccagnan moved back again at the start of Saturday, swapping fourthround picks with the Rams and moving back 16 spots while adding a sixth-round pick. He was making deals again in the fifth round, swapping fifth-round picks and adding a sixth-rounder while sending their seventhround pick to Cleveland. The final deal of the day was with the Cowboys. Maccagnan traded a sixth-round pick this year for a fifth-round pick in 2018.
The Jets are in rebuild mode, and Maccagnan felt he needed to add as many players as possible. That strategy was popularized by former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and perfected by Patriots coach Bill Belichick. It is not always successful, though. The 49ers have made 51 draft picks over the past five years, more than any other team in the NFL. Still, their roster might be the worst in the league. They drafted just one Pro Bowl player in that time.
Jets fans only have to look back to 2014, when Maccagnan’s predecessor, John Idzik, had 12 picks, but completely botched the draft. Only four of those 12 players cho-
sen remain with the Jets.
With the two picks they made early Saturday, the Jets took two offensive playmakers. They drafted California wide receiver Chad Hansen in the fourth round and Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett in the fifth round.
Hansen is a 6-foot-2, 202pound receiver who led the Pac-12 in receiving last year with 92 catches for 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns. He began his career at Idaho State but transferred to Cal and walked onto the football team. He joins a crowded receivers room with the Jets. Players like Jalin Marshall and Charone Peake could be in jeopardy of being cut after the team picked up Hansen and ArDarius Stewart, who went in the third round.
Leggett comes from the national champion Tigers and is a two-time finalist for the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end. He had 46 catches for 736 yards and seven touchdowns for Clemson in 2016. There are questions about his blocking and love for the game, but he could fill a huge void at the position.
The Jets then added some talent on the defensive side in the fifth round, taking Dylan Donahue, an outside linebacker out of West Georgia. They added more defense in the sixth round, taking Michigan cornerback Jeremy Clark, who is coming off a torn ACL, and Mississippi corner Derrick Jones. Their other Saturday pick was Louisiana-Lafayette running back Elijah McGuire, also a sixthround pick.
It will take years to know if the Jets actually got better over these three days. They addressed their leaky secondary with four picks, including their first two. They also took a tight end, a huge hole on their roster. Still, there are plenty of holes left. Neither of these cornerbacks should be expected to play immediately, and they don’t have an elite edge rusher.