The New York Jets were recently urged to make a move.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report wrote a column documenting which player on every NFL team should be placed on the trading block during the preseason. For the Jets, Knox selected defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
“The New York Jets acquired defensive tackle Mazi Smith from Dallas in last year’s Quinnen Williams trade. However, the 2023 first-round pick didn’t get an extensive opportunity with the Jets post-trade,” Knox explained. “Smith only appeared in three games for the Jets last season and played just 25 percent of the defensive snaps during those appearances.”
“This offseason, New York traded for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, added Darrell Jackson Jr. in the fourth round, and declined the fifth-year option on Smith’s contract. It’s hard to envision Smith seeing a legitimate opportunity in 2026, let alone sticking around beyond the season,” Knox wrote.
“The reality is that Smith was never a centerpiece of the Williams trade—which netted New York a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-rounder. The Jets simply took a flier on the 25-year-old Michigan product. Now, it’s time to see if another team is willing to add to the Jets’ draft capital in order to do the same,” Knox added.
This May Be a One Sided Street
I guess you can put anyone on the block, but that doesn’t necessarily mean someone else will be interested.
Smith, 25, was a disappointment in Dallas, and that continued with the Jets. The former Michigan product entered the league as the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Across his three years at the NFL level, he has appeared in 42 games and has made 20 starts. With those opportunities, Smith has collected two sacks, six quarterback hits, and he has totaled 57 tackles.
It’s unclear if there would be any interest in Smith on the open market. I spoke with RJ Ochoa, a Cowboys longtime analyst, and he told me on “Boy Green Daily” that Dallas couldn’t give away Smith despite multiple attempts to do so.
When the Jets and Cowboys trade came together, it sort of just made sense for Dallas to throw in Smith. The Jets were trading away a defensive tackle, so why not take one back in the trade?
However, you can never rule out general manager Darren Mougey making something happen. Heck, this offseason, he somehow found a trade partner in the Kansas City Chiefs for QB Justin Fields after his disastrous 2025 campaign. If that happened, then anything is possible.
Built Different
You never truly know until after the fact. When you select someone in the NFL draft, it’s an educated crapshoot if it’s going to work out. For months, you gather as much intel as you possibly can to make an informed decision.
In April, the Jets made David Bailey the highest-drafted defensive player in franchise history. The early returns look good.
“I covered my first training camp in 2014. I’ve been at one every year since, and two a year since SNY hired me five years ago. No, the teams I cover haven’t been very good, but you can tell when there is someone on the field who is better than those guys around him. David Bailey is one of those guys,” NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY wrote.
“The speed he comes off the edge with, the regularity he makes plays. He worked with the reserves [for] most of the offseason program. He took over on the starting defense to begin training camp and has tormented Olu Fashanu (something to monitor here) most days since. Bailey is good for multiple pressures each day, and usually a sack, too. That’s what he did in the scrimmage. He had a sack, and drew two penalties that wrecked drives,” Hughes said. “It will be fun to see him go against the Bucs in joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
Jets Urged to Place Ex-1st Rounder on Trade Block Amid Camp