Why I Fully Trust Jets GM Darren Mougey Ahead of the Trade Deadline

The Jets have been a rough watch in 2026. The team is 2-7 through nine weeks and appears headed for an 11th straight losing season. Despite that, the New York team still has hope: draft capital. The Jets currently hold nine picks in the 2027 draft, three of them first-rounders.

That is general manager Darren Mougey's doing.

Jets fans should continue to have faith in the second-year GM. Gang Green will likely sell at the deadline—as proven by Monday's Andre Cisco trade with the Lions—and Mougey has shown he can make a deal with the best of them.

The Jets are in good hands in the roster-building department, despite it not carrying over in the win-loss column just yet.

Jets fans should trust Darren Mougey to sell at the right time

Darren Mougey has sent three former first-round picks out the door in his time as the Jets' GM. Early on, it seems as though Mougey got every one of those decisions right. The Jets parted with Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner, and Jermaine Johnson II in the past year; all three left the Jets on the better side of those trades.

Pro Football Focus has Williams (23rd), Gardner (48th), and Johnson (59th) all ranked outside the top 20 at their positions, marks they had met when they were in New York. Mougey seems to have gotten rid of talent that wasn't producing at just the right time.

Williams and Gardner were seen as franchise cornerstones before their respective trades. Now the Cowboys and Colts may have buyer's remorse. Gardner is having one of the worst seasons of his career. Williams isn't doing much better. Mougey seems to have shed bloated contracts at the perfect time.

Mougey got rid of two players who are being paid top-five numbers at their positions and one who was toward the end of a rookie contract. None of those players are currently performing like top players at their respective positions. The Jets GM has had to sell, and he's done it at the perfect times. With the deadline looming, expect him to sell again at the right time.

Getting the best return is key

Fleece. That is one word people have used to describe the Jets' trades over the past year. Thanks to Mougey, the Jets currently hold three of the first 13 picks in the 2027 Draft. Mougey has made the most of his blockbuster trades so far, and should be itching to see what he can accomplish during this year's deadline.

The Jets used the first-round returns from the Gardner and Williams trades to land Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr., who have shown flashes of stardom in their rookie seasons. Mougey has not parted with players cheaply. Rather, he has gotten the best possible return for the team. Even the Johnson trade netted the Jets T'Vondre Sweat, who is grading higher than his predecessor, Williams.

If Mougey has shown one thing during his tenure at the helm, it's that he can win trades. The Jets are currently watching the Colts' and Cowboys' seasons slip away with a smile on their face knowing that every loss means better draft capital for the team. Jets fans can trust that their GM is dedicated to being on the winning side, even though a blockbuster trade this season seems unlikely

Mougey should be untouchable

Mougey has been the most productive member of the Jets' organization during his tenure as the GM. The man has gotten rid of players who were not worth their contracts and gotten the best return possible for them. The Jets should trust the man who has been able to produce six first-round draft picks in two years' time.

The Jets look better than last year despite an ever-present uphill climb in the win-loss department. Mougey is a huge reason for that improvement. As the trade deadline looms, fans and the organization should be happy that the 41-year-old GM is at the helm.

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