Joe Douglas didn’t make too many franchise-altering moves during his first regular season as the Jets general manager. That would have been a hard feat to accomplish given he joined the team after Mike Maccagnan ran the draft and signed expensive free agents. But the one move he did make that could have the biggest effect on the long-term future of the team was trading former 2016 first-round pick Leonard Williams to the Giants.
That trade netted the Jets a 2020 third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-round pick that could become a fourth if the Giants re-sign Williams to a deal, something the Giants reportedly began discussing soon after trading for the defensive end. It was a pivotal move for Douglas for two reasons: 1) Douglas acquired a top-70 pick, which could become an important piece for his first-ever draft class as GM and 2) shedding Williams gave the team opportunities to look at other young talents on the defensive line.
The Jets now have the 11th, 48th, 68th and 79th selection in the first three rounds of the 2020 draft. Considering all the holes on the roster, that 68th pick could end up being a starter for the Jets as early as next season. The addition of an extra third-round pick gives Douglas even more flexibility in the first two days of the draft if he wants to move up and grab the guy he wants. Either way, if Douglas drafts correctly that selection could play a major role for the Jets in 2020. Even better, they could get another top-120 selection in 2021 if Williams re-signs with the Giants.
Jettisoning Williams gave Douglas, Adam Gase and Gregg Williams the added bonus of checking out the rest of their defensive line depth. The Jets actually had a pretty deep line behind Williams, and his lack of production meant he wasn’t any more valuable than the cheaper players behind him. Guys like Folorunso Fatukasi, Kyle Phillips and Jordan Willis all earned a bigger role on the team with Williams’ departure, and then all even played better than Williams. Each had more sacks than Williams and combined for 11 quarterback hits.
The Williams trade didn’t really affect the Jets’ 2019 season, which is fine considering the team was 1-7 at the trade deadline. If anything, Douglas probably needed to make more moves to shore up his draft capital during a crucial offseason.
The Williams trade was the only one he made, and the only move that will help the Jets next season. The rest of his moves – save for signing tight end Ryan Griffin and trading for back-up offensive lineman Alex Lewis – didn’t pan out. Center Ryan Kalil played poorly and missed nine games after Douglas coaxed him out of retirement, and Douglas failed to find a long-term kicker solution between Kaare Vedvik and Sam Ficken.
It’s hard to completely evaluate Douglas’ first season as GM since he worked with a roster he didn’t build, but it’s encouraging to see how he saw the value in trading away a young, underperforming player for draft capital. The Williams trade will be huge in how the Johnson’s evaluate Douglas’ ability to run the team, and another early pick gives Douglas the ability to finally shape the roster the way he wanted to when he took the job.