Jets' Joe Douglas Open to Trading Draft Picks For Proven Players This Offseason

Jets general manager Joe Douglas said New York will be "aggressive" this offseason and could use a surplus of draft capital to acquire proven talent.

Author:
Max Goodman
Updated:
Jan 10, 2022 6:50 PM EST
Original:
Jan 10, 2022

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New York Jets

Since Joe Douglas was hired as the general manager of the Jets in 2019, one of his core philosophies has been building this franchise through the NFL draft.

In fact, on multiple occasions, Douglas has parted ways with key pieces—like Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams, for instance—to acquire a surplus of draft capital in return.

Addressing the media on Monday fresh off another disappointing campaign, however, Douglas hinted at a possible change in his offseason approach in 2022.

With four draft picks in the top 38 selections this spring, and nine picks over the first five rounds, Douglas acknowledged that the Jets have a unique opportunity. They can either stick with those picks and inject more young talent into this rebuilding roster, or use some of that capital to acquire proven contributors and get better right away.

"Where we are now with the assets we have, we have great flexibility to be aggressive in a lot of different avenues," Douglas told reporters. "We're excited about this offseason."

READ: Jets Secure Two Top-10 Picks in 2022 NFL Draft

Douglas' enthusiasm entering this offseason comes as no surprise. The Jets have loads of cap space, a core group of players to build around on both sides of the ball and plenty of room for improvement.

But considering how dissatisfied Douglas and the entire Jets organization are about a four-win season, extending their league-worst postseason drought to 11 years, New York has a real opportunity to accelerate the process over the next several months if Douglas elects to give this alternate method a shot.

Asked specifically about flipping some of his draft picks in exchange for proven talent, Douglas didn't rule it out, reiterating that this team will be aggressive all offseason long.

"We have great flexibility to really use these assets in different ways," he said. "You've seen teams do that in the past couple years where they've used draft assets for proven players. Those are all things that coach and I are going to talk about. Again, it starts with the end of season meeting with the coaches, but these are things that we're definitely going to talk about moving forward. We're fortunate to be in this position to have this kind of flexibility. I think we're always going to be aggressive if the right opportunity presents itself. The good thing is that moving forward, we can be in just about any discussion when it comes to player trades."

The focus for Douglas should (and will) be improving this team significantly before they take the field next fall. If the youngsters already in the building continue to evolve and New York supplements that group with even more proficient pieces, this is a team that could take a massive step forward in 2022.

So, buckle up, Jets fans. This offseason could be a big one for this franchise and feature some significant surprises.