Having picks is good. What they become remains to be seen. If we’re going on history, they should draft WR/OL/CB and look to acquire an actually capable veteran QB even if it means using some draft capital. Capable vet QB + 2 top tier WR’s + time to throw will lead to points. Try to draft a new lock down CB who can also tackle and who hasn’t been Jets’d. Then build around all of that.
https://x.com/adamschefter/status/1986786207741989211?s=12&t=eaLIxbRmBqelegocbpHIVQ Really really good column on how this all came together. Mougs played the Sauce situation perfectly as much as I don’t like the path. And he took advantage of dumb Jerry as soon as the Jags became interested in Q. Plenty more in there and it’s well worth a read.
@Borat @NOVAJET @Jets79 Starting at around the 12 min mark, Bilal Powell talks about how Breece went about this all the wrong way.
For as good as he is I feel like you can say “Breece went about this the wrong way“ at least once every single year of his career so far. He’s a diva that is very good but nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. I don’t think his market value is going to be anywhere near what he’s expecting it to be unless a team gets desperate and stupid. And considering we have a GM who just dug his heels in and got crazy returns on two major trades I don’t think we are going to cave and give him some kind of panic offer just to keep him around.
I actually wanted Breece traded after sauce and Quinnen were gone. I love Breece but this team should have been torn down to the sticks if they wanted to start the rebuild right. Breece, Quincy, Lazard, Clemons all should have been dealt for peanuts. If we sign Breece I will be happy and feel they made the right decision but if he walks it was a terrible move by Moug not taking the 4th on the table.
Yeah, he is absolutely an immature diva, no doubt about it. But in spite of all that even these guys on the podcast are talking about tagging him, even alluding to a possible transition tag, where he can go negotiate with other teams. So, there is no need for panic offer at all. Tag him and then negotiate a good deal. Breece wants to win, and he goes about it the wrong way. Ultimately winning has to happen or even GW will break too, just like Q broke. And if you want to win tagging Breece is a no brainer, even according to the podcast you provided as an example. There is no way he sits if tagged. Very few people do it. Bell did it, and while Mac stupidly paid him after, he was not the same when he came back and his career was ruined. Lesson learned, no one else will pay a guy if he sits for a year. Breece is 24, turning 25 next season. He is not sitting. Barkley was in the same situation and he played on tag, no issues. Breece has been our best player this year. It was a good decision not to trade him for a 4th, and now a good decision is to keep him for next year, probably via tag or a reasonable extension. We are not getting a guy like that in free agency. And I sure as hell am not spending a 1st or 2nd on a RB when I can keep a very good one we have in 11-14 mil range.
Barkley was a stand up citizen his entire time on the god awful Giants though. Different situation. I still don’t tag him and deal with that mess. Let him walk. Maybe you’ll get your transition tag wish though lol and maybe I’ll say you’re right it was a great decision! (Not sarcasm).
Agreed on the franchise tag thing. That’s always a mess especially with a guy who a.) doesn’t really want to be here and b.) will eat up $14 mil if he signs it.
Good thing is we will have boatloads of cap space and an insanely undesirable landing spot. We might as well spend it on Breece because we are going to have to drastically overpay FAs. I would rather extend JJ, Breece, AVT or Simpson then over pay for mediocre players.
Then save the rest of the cap for 2027 when we are in better shape and hopefully have our future staff in place.
I think the idea here is that Mooge wants to build up an offense for a rookie QB, which is most likely coming in 2026. Plus to get that QB we might need to trade up too. Which is why he has literally not even picked up the phone when people called on GW, according to Hughes. He also did bring AD Mitchell, who is a true second round talent, even now. Granted they did bring a DT from Dallas, who was drafted in the 1st and greatly disappointed, but this is mostly to have a non PS scrub in DT rotation after they traded Q. Mitchell was a pure addition to the room. Kind of like Metchie, but much better. He did pick up the phone on Breece, but again the 4th is not enough to replace him. I personally do not think even 3d is, but at least it is a starting point. 4th is an non starter at all, especially when we can control Breece with a tag next year, and Mooge told KC to fuck off. So, to me Mooge clearly prioritized offense at this point. And for a good reason. We do not want another Sam fiasco, where we give a QB shit support, he cannot develop, then goes into decent environment and becomes a top 3 in the NFL, which we have been searching for 50+ years and should had. And for that we do need more than one WR, we do need another good TE, and yes we do need a dynamic RB who can catch the ball. Also, OL has been spotty this year. It was OK I guess overall, but it can be better. Can we upgrade a C or one or both guards? Maybe not all 3 of these but at least 1? Now we have ammunition to do that. Which is why to me these deadlines moves (and non moves by keeping Breece and good offensive players) all made a lot of sense.
For the most part, I don’t think this is really a thing across the NFL no matter how poor the franchise is. The only two positions in question over landing spot are probably receiver and running back since the situation can drastically dictate their production. However, running backs in the NFL for the most part aren’t allowed to be picky. They get paid very little as it is in comparison to all the other positions. The top 3-4 guys have the luxury to choose their landing spots strategically maybe and it’s not like those guys are always available. Same with receivers to an extent but the truly desirable landing spots with big time QB’s often don’t have the cap space to come close to what the shittier teams offer. So they’re not going to take an offer there $10 million less in total over 4 years as an example to go to the Chiefs. There’s definitely going to be a big bidding war for the top available receivers if they hit the market though. It’s not a great FA market this year. Alec Pierce and Romeo Doubs are the only two guys I’d really be interested in if I’m the Jets. Secondarily, Dontayvion Wicks but he’s a RFA and Dyani Brown. The rest are probably too old for our current situation. The Jets should be taking a receiver with one of their first four if not get crazy and take two.
Mooge looks legit. Note this quote from Q: ""I think the world knew I was frustrated being there so long and still losing," Williams said Wednesday at his introductory news conference". And he was out captain. This is what I was saying before about Breece: yes, he acting like a diva, but 4 years of losing is taking its toll, and expectedly so. But when asked if he wants to come back with the Jets, he said yes, if they'll have me. That did not sound like a guy who is definitely out. It sounds like a guy who is tired of losing and prefers to be traded to a winning club, but would still stay if that's how the chips fall. I do not see him sitting out at all if tagged and I actually prefer to extend him in the offseason using tag as a threat. Of course a lot depends on how he finishes out the year, but so far he has been team MVP IMO.
I agree with most of this but the part about players not caring how poor the franchise is. QW is a perfect example, he was a great player, team player but the losing gets to you. If it broke Q down why would anyone want to put themselves in that position? If NFL was on glass door can you imagine what the Jets page would look like? There is currently no hope except a few draft pick lottery tickets.
Some more details on inside the trades from Albert Breer: https://www.si.com/nfl/jets-cowboys-nfl-trade-deadline-sauce-gardner-quinnen-williams A few quotes of interest: "Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds engaged new Jets GM Darren Mougey, who delivered Dodds a startling revelation: New York was prepared to listen to trade offers on anyone on their defense. Anyone? Yes, Mougey affirmed. He wasn’t looking to trade everyone, but he’d listen to an offer on anyone" This is what I was saying before: Mooge was not willing to downgrade the offense the same was as he was defense. Very smart move - when you want a young QB to have a chance to succeed. Very different from previous dumb ass GM in JD and his handling of offensive talent around Sam. One more thing that's very different, at least towards the end of his tenure: "The Gardner deal’s survival hinged primarily on trust. As Mougey’s discussions with Indy evolved over the past four weeks, a key for New York was that the Colts keep their interest in Gardner, and the Jets’ interest in a trade, quiet as could be." There are no leaks in Jets FO. Colts kept it quiet and so did the Jets, so everyone was shocked. Contrast this with JD's FO, where everyone including himself were leaking and greatly exaggerating every little thing. Now days 0 leaks from the Jets. All you hear about the Jets is coming from other teams, which is second hand information and should be taken with a grain of salt. Finally: "The GM was headed for Nick Mangold’s funeral in the New Jersey suburbs later in the morning. He knew that the service would be filled with Jets people, both past and present, and the last thing he wanted was for everyone paying their respects to the beloved former New York center to have their phones buzzing in church. So he asked Ballard to keep their agreement under wraps for just a few more hours. Ballard quickly pledged to Mougey that he would." This is a sign of very high character. I must admit I am liking Mooge more and more as time goes by. Made some mistakes, but overall off to a very good start.
I would say draft a DE/Edge … even ahead of CB unless the draft ratings there really don’t match that
One of the biggest weaknesses on defense is inability to rush the passer. Even with Sauce here and Stephens playing very well, we just could not generate any pressure on the QB at all. Even against some teams who played scrubs and back-ups across the whole line. And Q did not help in that regard either, he was basically a great run defender for us. Whoever we get on defense needs to be able to rush the passer. Also as far as CBs, let's see how Stephens and AZ do the rest of the year. It's quite possible we may have two good starters there already in place. The definitely the focus would be QB, Offense, and then pass rush.
Agreed…it was pathetic watching our D play against 3 (or was it 4?) backups at Tampa and not get any pressure. I think part of Q’s lack of sacks production was that he was doubled just about all the time because outside of a few flashes from McD and JJ, there was no other consistent pass rush threat. He was it. I think DE/Edge is a HUGE need for us, more so than CB. I don’t know if Stephens and AZ will pan out over the long run, but I’d still prioritize pass rush even if they only play average.
