Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson smiling as he walks off of the football field.
The trade winds are blowing after wide receiver Denzel Mims demanded a trade from the New York Jets earlier this week.
With the former Baylor product drawing his line in the sand, other NFL teams are starting to circle outside the team facilities.
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Something That Makes Sense
One team that has already called the Jets about Mims’ availability is the Carolina Panthers according to Joe Person of The Athletic.
On top of sharing that nugget, Person said the Panthers’ interest in Mims isn’t “surprising” given his connection to Matt Rhule.
Additionally, he said there is a connective tissue between Jets general manager Joe Douglas and Panthers GM Scott Fitterer from the Sam Darnold trade last offseason.
Panthers have called about Jets WR Denzel Mims, per league sources. Mims had a pair of 1,000-yard receiving seasons for Matt Rhule at Baylor.
GM Scott Fitterer has said Panthers will be in on every deal. So Mims interest not surprising, esp. given his connection to Rhule. (1/2)
With the Panthers calling, I decided to look through Carolina’s official roster to see if there were any potential targets for a Mims deal.
One name stood out that would make a lot of sense in a straight-up swap and that’s offensive tackle Brady Christensen.
The 25-year-old originally entered the NFL as the No. 70 overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.
He is of course a former teammate of Zach Wilson from their days at BYU together. The dynamic duo spent three years together from 2018 through 2020.
Last season Christensen appeared in 16 games and started in six of those contests.
A Logical Destination
One of the areas the Jets could still use some improvement is in the offensive tackle room. The two starters are locked in ahead of 2022 in Duane Brown and George Fant, but they could use some more depth.
Christensen has fantastic size at 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, and would fill in as the Jets’ primary blindside protector off the bench.
Last season he registered over 480 offensive snaps and primarily played left tackle (320 snaps). The former BYU product also got some reps at left guard, right guard, and right tackle.
This could be a trade that helps out both sides. Brady would reunite with Wilson in New York and speaking of reunions Mims and Rhule could link back up down south as well.
Carolina has been interested in Mims since last season and they believe there is a ton of untapped potential underneath the surface.
The only problem with this potential pairing is on paper the former Baylor product would seemingly be as equally buried on the Panthers’ depth chart as he currently is in New York.
Antwan Staley of the New York Daily News says DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Terrance Marshall Jr are all “definitely locked” into the top three spots at wide receiver on the Panthers’ depth chart.
However, the relationship between Mims and Rhule could likely smooth over any of these potential issues.
Regardless it seems like the talented wideout is destined for greener pastures and landing a talented reserve offensive lineman would be a solid consolation for Gang Green in this proposed deal.
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