Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh patrolling the sideline during an NFL game.
The New York Jets have been scouring the landscape for a new wide receiver this offseason.
Yet at every turn, there has been some type of snafu so far.
That was once again the case this week as a big-time trade went down and Gang Green decided to remain on the sidelines.
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Thanks, but No Thanks
When the Los Angeles Rams signed Allen Robinson in free agency to a three-year deal for $46.5 million, everyone was thinking what happens next?
It seemed like Robert Woods would be available for the right price due to the glut of talent at the position. He certainly was and the Rams were able to send him to the Tennessee Titans for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Fans were in an uproar that Gang Green wasn’t involved and Rich Cimini of ESPN was able to provide some clarity on Sunday morning.
“The Jets monitored the situation, but it doesn’t sound like there was keen interest. His age — 30 on April 10 — was a turnoff.”
It makes sense the Jets would’ve monitored the situation, general manager Joe Douglas said the team would have the ability to be in any and every trade conversation that goes down this offseason.
Although this is another player at a position of need that the Jets decided to pass on. A few weeks ago it was Amari Cooper and this time it is Woods they decided against acquiring, albeit for different reasons.
The Risk in the Plan
It seems like the current Jets plan is to forego the trade market and instead look for younger options that can “grow with Zach Wilson”, per Cimini.
On paper, that strategy makes a lot of sense.
Instead of paying a veteran a lot of money and/or giving up assets in a potential trade, you can simply select a wide receiver in the NFL draft on the dirt-cheap for multiple years.
The only problem with that plan is the transition period.
Most rookie wide receivers need some serious time to adjust to the professional game. Michael Nania of Jets X-Factor had a great stat recently to back this up:
Only 40 percent or two out of every five receivers taken in the first round have given you 700 plus receiving yards in their first season.
That player could very well be a really solid piece for many years to come, but Wilson needs weapons that can help out right now.
The bonus of acquiring a proven veteran is they have an incredibly high floor, you already know what they bring to the table. They don’t have to get accustomed to the pro game, they are intimately familiar with it.
A rookie receiver in 2022 could experience a lot of the same struggles Elijah Moore did with injuries, trying to understand the offense, and attempting to find his role within it.
The Jets have made a lot of improvements to the roster during free agency, but we’ll have to sit back and see how they fill the void at wide receiver.
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Jets ‘Monitored’ Big Time WR Trade, Age Was a ‘Turnoff’: Report