When the New York Jets acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers, part of the deal included the teams swapping picks in the first round. Green Bay moved up to No. 13, New York dropped to No. 15.
Initially, it didn’t seem like a big deal. As we got deeper into the situation and the draft, the opposite became true. The Jets wanting a top offensive tackle in this draft was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL. Had one of Paris Johnson, Peter Skoronski or Broderick Jones been available at No. 15, the Jets were grabbing him.
Johnson went No. 6 to Arizona followed by Skoronski at No. 11 to Tennessee. Whether you believe the Jets had interest in Darnell Wright, that flame was put out early too after Chicago took him at No. 10.
After Detroit took Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12 and Green Bay took Lukas Van Ness at No. 13, there was only one pick standing between the Jets and the Georgia offensive tackle Jones. Of course, that one pick belonged to the New England Patriots, who were also thought to possibly take a tackle.
As it turned out, the Patriots found a trade partner that knew they had to jump the Jets if they wanted Jones. That partner was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who came up from No. 17 to No. 14 and swiped Jones from under the Jets’ nose. New York then took Iowa State edge Will McDonald IV with the 15th pick.
In a recent article by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, he touched on that trade. Fowler talked to an AFC executive and, while he was likely joking, that exec said, “They should be mad at the Patriots. They knew what was going on.”
As if the Jets-Patriots rivalry wasn’t rough enough for the Jets. They have lost 14 straight games to New England. Their last win against the Patriots came on December 27, 2015. The silver lining is that isn’t the longest active losing streak to an opponent. The Broncos have lost 15 straight to Kansas City.
Still, the Jets maybe felt a little slighted losing out on Jones. They did land McDonald, who they have been raving about since drafting him. But it makes you wonder what would have happened if the pick swap wasn’t part of the deal.
