Well, the revis traded netted us Sheldon Richardson which later netted us a 2nd which we used to move up to get Sam so even that trade ended up ok.
If Gase is still here, it may not matter whom we draft. None of them are likely to have any impact. You're correct that without a good OL the RB and receivers are less likely to have much of an impact. That's why I said I'd be ok with trading Bell. We could draft a big, bruising RB who can run over players and get yardage on his own, or maybe we could find a Barry Sanders clone who can juke and fake and gain yardage on his own. I believe that fixing the OL will be a priority for Douglas and that our OL will be much better next season. We need to surround Sam with quality receiving options, and it would be best if we keep Herndon, Crowder and Anderson since that would give him 3 guys with whom he has already established timing and chemistry. Add in big WR (either a #1 type or a big possession-type WR) and Sam will have some options. I agree that one decides who one is building around. For me that core is Sam, Bell, Mosley, Crowder, Anderson, McLendon, Folukasi, Cashman, Maye, Poole and a few others. The only real untouchable is Sam, but the reality is that we won't get value for Bell, Mosley, and several of the other players, we need to keep some leaders on both sides of the ball, and some familiar targets for Sam. Some of the players who are under contract will be brought back because we can't replace everyone in one offseason. It's not that Folukasi and Cashman are that great, but they are young, still have upside, are cheap and under contract. They may not prove to be long-term keepers, but for the next year or two are. Keeping Mosley and McLendon gives two strong leaders to the D and the QB of our D. Keeping Bell keeps a veteran leader on offense and a versatile player that with a better OL should have an impact. If Anderson wants too much money, fine, don't re-sign him as long as we keep Herndon and Crowder, but we'd lose him for nothing as I'm sure we'll be signing FAs. Hopefully, he's sign a cheaper 2-3 year contract, and if he doesn't show improvement, we can move on after next year. I believe Herndon has two more cheap years left on his contract. That will help with cap space as well as on the field. If he gets suspended again next year or again has injury issues, then we can move on from him following next season. We can't fix the OL, overhaul the WR corps, overhaul the CB corps and add an edge rusher in one offseason. The Jets will have to carefully pick and choose how to use the draft picks they have. I also agree that a halfway rebuild is worse than tearing it all down, but again, one can't replace the whole roster in one season. Yes, we need to load up on draft capital, but imo that has to be balanced with keeping some core players to build around. We can't jettison everyone but Sam and then try to build around him. It would take 5-10 off seasons to replace everyone. Herndon was a 4th round draft pick. He's been a steal. To replace him with a player that's just as good, we'd probably have to draft a TE in at least the 2nd round, maybe the 1st, and even then, he may not be as good. You're not wrong that gase is trash and the Johnsons are trash. We don't have many players that are keepers, but we do have a few, and I think they should be kept at least for the next couple of seasons while we're replacing all the trash on the roster. Then we can think about replacing those guys if need be.
Mangold only played 3 more years than Abraham did. (not knocking Mangold or Abraham, just felt like "long after" was a bit of a hyperbole). Mangold missed the last half of 2016 and retired in 2017. Abraham had 11.5 sacks in 2013. Abraham was injured in the first game of 2014, placed on IR and then retired. All that said, it was a great draft pick and a good trade. If only we could have filled Abraham's role on our team since then.
Unbeknownst to most, Abraham is actually 13th all time in sacks and ahead of guys like Lawrence Taylor, Rickey Jackson, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Derrick Thomas. He had a good career. This franchise was just absolutely done with him after the DWI and the fact that he didn't suit up for that playoff game in 2004 I think it was and give it the ol' college try. He was also a liability in the run game and the trade worked out awesome for us. But he was a damn good edge rusher and you're right, we haven't had one since and have been scared off on trying to get one since Gholston.
I doubt we'll make any trades. we have a lot of free agents. there will be a lot of turnover and nobody trades for players going to get cut. Only player I could see us trading is avery williamson but coming off an injury and on the last year of his deal and the fact teams know we will cut him to save cap means we couldn't get much if anything. at best maybe a 6th rounder but likely we won't make any trades for anything big
Mangold, I love him and all, but I'd rather have kept the dynamic pass rusher. ultimately though, what people don't seem to understand is that the Jets didn't trade John Abraham for Nick Mangold. Or Revis for Sheldon Richardson. Or Keyshawn for John Abraham, etc. etc. etc. they traded those pro bowlers, and in some cases, future hall of famers!!!, for draft picks. A draft pick could be Nick Mangold or... it could be Vernon Gholston. What the Jets rarely, rarely do, is trade their draft picks to other teams for pro bowlers and/or future hall of famers. (and they've had plenty of opportunities)
Antonio Cromartie, Kris Jenkins, Braylon Edwards, Brandon Marshall, and Santonio Holmes are recent examples of the Jets trading picks for pro bowl-caliber players. How many such trades are required to move them out of the "rarely, rarely" designation?
Its possible they could use a player for player strategy as a means to fill immediate holes IE OL,WR,Corner & edge.
The problem with that is if you're targeting more important positions, you're going to get lesser players. For instance, Adams isn't going to fetch a young Pro Bowler at any of the positions you listed. At least with picks, you can take advantage of teams that are discounting the future for the present.
In all fairness, you may believe in what you want but for someone to allege that either Johnson brother has done anything to meddle in the draft selection process without a single bit of supporting evidence is ridiculous. I've seen nothing to support the contention that these guys even know there is a draft.
The one area where this franchise hasn't struggled is in the trade market when we're getting a veteran. Maybe this general manager can figure out how to trade back...