Getty Miami Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene going through some drills during training camp.
When you have as many needs as the New York Jets do this offseason, sometimes you have to get weird to fill every void.
Not every roster hole can be filled in a traditional sense, you have to get creative to get the job done. Well, one analyst believes an unusual concept could lead to a surprising resolution this offseason for the green and white.
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An AFC East Trade Swap?
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus shared 15 trades “to watch out for” in the upcoming 2022 offseason.
One of those featured an interesting swap between the Jets and the Miami Dolphins that is so crazy it just might work.
In the proposed deal, the Dolphins would send cornerback Noah Igbinoghene in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round draft choice.
Gang Green doesn’t own a pick in the sixth round in this upcoming class but they could easily find one with a simple trade back or throw in a 2023 sixth-rounder instead.
Igbinoghene originally entered the league as the No. 30 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Auburn.
Unfortunately for a variety of reasons that pick hasn’t worked out thus far. The talented cornerback has played in 23 games across two seasons only starting in three of those contests.
He has yet to come down with an interception and his stats have been marginal at best with only 19 tackles and two pass deflections.
A Cautionary Tale
The Jets have an obvious need at the cornerback spot and this would be the ultimate low risk versus high reward kind of move.
Despite Igbinoghene’s struggles early on in his NFL career the 22-year-old still has two cheap years left on his deal plus the fifth year option after that.
In this hypothetical trade, the green and white would inherit him for only $3.7 million total across the next two calendar years. That is 100 percent worth a late-round dart throw.
Normally you wouldn’t see teams inside the same division make any trades, let alone one featuring a former first-round pick. However, PFF pointed at the relationship between head coach Robert Saleh and new Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as the foundation for a potential deal.
New Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene is still learning the position and needs to improve his play at the catch point, but his match-and-mirror ability and deep speed are rare — he has special movement skills teams will covet early.
On a separate note, Igbinoghene should be a cautionary tale for the Jets.
Gang Green are armed this offseason with the second most draft capital of any NFL team since 1999. While that is a cool fun fact and a great opportunity to improve, at the end of the day it is only that, a chance to do something, not a guarantee.
Look no further than the 2020 NFL draft for the Dolphins as a prime example of what not to do.
They had three first-round draft choices that could have turned their entire organization around, instead, they have three total unknowns and a lot of wasted opportunities:
- No. 5 overall: Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback, Alabama
- No. 18 overall: Austin Jackson, offensive lineman, USC
- No. 30 overall: Igbinoghene, cornerback, Auburn
Even if the Jets don’t decide to pull the trigger on this deal, hopefully, they can still learn a valuable lesson that picks are only as good as the guy making them. The pressure is on for general manager Joe Douglas to hit some dingers this April.
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