Jermaine Johnson Trade is Harsh Jets Reminder Ahead of Crucial NFL Draft

New York has been in this position before...

Oct 19, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets linebacker Jermaine Johnson (11) celebrates a defensive stop in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Thursday was a sliding doors moment for the New York Jets in what has become a near-endless quest to build a contender.

Coming off another excruciating season, this one a 3-14 campaign that earned the Jets the No. 2 pick in April's NFL Draft, New York is headed face-first into another rebuild attempt. Trading away linebacker Jermaine Johnson wasn't even the moment that closed the book on the last rebuild, but it was more like putting the book in a library drop box.

Johnson, the 26th overall pick in the 2022 draft and the third pick the Jets made in that year's first round, was tabbed to be shipped to the Tennessee Titans for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat on Thursday, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

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Jermaine Johnson was part of last Jets draft rebuild

The New York Jets' first-round picks Jermaine Johnson, Ahmad \"Sauce\" Gardner and Garrett Wilson are introduced at a press conference. Syndication The Record | Anne-Marie Caruso / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jets have an exciting haul of draft picks this year: two first-rounders and two second-rounders, adding up to four of the first 44 selections that will be made in April. But Johnson's unceremonious departure, even if the Jets got a promising player back, serves as a harsh reminder of the last time they went down this road.

Four years ago, Johnson came to the Jets alongside fourth-overall pick Sauce Gardner and 10th-overall pick Garrett Wilson. It was hailed as the draft class that would help turn the franchise around, after what was then a franchise-record 11th straight season with no playoff berths.

Now, that streak has stretched to 15 years, and Johnson just became the second of that trio to leave the Jets before the official end of his rookie contract. Gardner was shipped to the Indianapolis Colts in November, which netted New York the 16th overall pick this year and also the Colts' first-rounder next year.

None of this is to say that Johnson's Jets tenure should be classified as a "disappointment," though in a perfect world, he would have stayed healthy a bit more often and provided a bit more impact on the stat sheet.

But as the promise of a draft rebuild beckons, Jets fans know they can't afford to let their guard down too much, because talent on paper hasn't often translated to wins in the past decade and a half.