Could Joe Douglas and the Jets use their newfound abundance of draft capital to put together a package to land one of the best pass-rushers in football?
Following the blockbuster trade that sent Jamal Adams to Seattle, New York has enough ammunition to make a major splash on the trade market if it wishes to do so. Douglas’ affinity for building through the draft is well-documented, but with a boatload of picks at his disposal, it might not be a bad idea to swap some of those selections in exchange for a talent that can change Gang Green’s defense for the better.
Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has made it abundantly clear that he wants out of Jacksonville. In March, he took to Twitter to request a trade. One month later, he got into a social media spat with Tony Khan, the team owner’s son, that ended with the former Pro Bowler reiterating his desire to be dealt. Now Ngakoue, who has yet to sign his franchise tag tender, will not report to Jacksonville for training camp.
Much like the stance the Jets took when it came to trading Adams, the Jaguars do not plan on moving Ngakoue until they are presented with an offer to their liking. It took a while for a deal for Adams to materialize, but the Seahawks swooped in with an offer that was too good to refuse — two first-round picks in 2021 and 2022, a 2021 third-round pick and starting safety Bradley McDougald. New York now has the ability to send a similar kind of offer Jacksonville’s way.
Four first-round picks in the next two years gives Douglas a lot of wiggle room moving forward. Even if he trades one of New York’s first-round selections, he will still be left with premium first-round draft capital to work with in consecutive NFL drafts. That gives him enough picks to build the team how he sees fit while also bringing in a pass-rusher that can plug the hole left by John Abraham’s departure 15 years ago.
The obvious elephant in the room when it comes to the idea of trading for Ngakoue is his contract situation. Wherever he plays in 2020, Ngakoue will be working on a one-year, $17.8 million deal as a result of Jacksonville franchise tagging him. Would the Jets want to pay him what he thinks he is worth right after sending Adams away because they were not willing to meet his contract demands?
The difference between Adams and Ngakoue is where they line up on the field. Yes, Adams is arguably the best safety in football and was a gamechanger for the Jets, but safety is not a premium position. The highest-paid safety in the NFL right now is Chicago’s Eddie Jackson, who makes $14.6 million per year. Adams, however, was said to want significantly more than that, something he was never going to sniff with the Jets because of the position he plays.
Ngakoue, meanwhile, plays a position where lucrative salaries are the norm. The highest-paid pass-rusher in football is Khalil Mack, who earns $23.5 million per year. DeMarcus Lawrence and Frank Clark also make upwards of $20 million per year. Overall, there are 15 other pass-rushers (Ngakoue included) that make more than the highest-paid safety in the league.
In other words, pass-rushers make the big bucks. Safeties typically don’t. If the Jets are going to shell out a lucrative sum for a defender, it would be for a defensive end or outside linebacker.
Douglas claims he is not punting the 2020 season. How can he prove that? Trading for a player who is only 25 and has 37.5 sacks to go along with 85 quarterback hits in his first four seasons is a good place to start. Ngakoue would not only give Gregg Williams’ a much-needed boost after losing a superstar. He would bring some juice back to One Jets Drive and reaffirm that Douglas is 100 percent committed to getting the team turned around sooner rather than later.
In order to achieve that, Douglas is going to have to push the envelope, part with a couple of draft picks and spend some money. Trading and re-signing Ngakoue is the kind of move that allows him to lock up an elite pass-rusher and focus on addressing other pertinent needs in the draft. Considering the current state of New York’s roster, that is the definition of a win-win scenario.