Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson smiling during an NFL game.
There has been a lot of hoopla surrounding a potential trade that would send San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the New York Jets.
On Wednesday, April 27, Gang Green quarterback Zach Wilson was asked about his take during his open availability with the media:
“Deebo is a great player, there would be no hesitation there. What we’d have to give up isn’t up to me.”
“Deebo is a great player … there would be no hesitation there.” – Zach Wilson on a potential Samuel trade.
“What we’d have to give up isn’t up to me.”
Says he trusts Joe Douglas & the decision they do/don’t make.
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An Opportunity of a Lifetime
Wilson showed a lot of flashes last year, but also a lot of deficiencies.
Ultimately the No. 1 goal for the Jets this offseason is to surround the former BYU stud with as much protection and playmakers as possible to accelerate his development.
One of the biggest failures with Sam Darnold was a lack of both of those things. He didn’t have proper protection and he didn’t have enough weapons, so we constantly wondered what if he had those things?
That can’t happen this time around. If Wilson fails it can’t be because of a lack of support it has to be because he wasn’t good enough.
Samuel would provide him a legit No. 1 weapon on offense that opposing defenses would have to gameplan around. To acquire him will cost a bounty, the general thought around the league, is if Samuel is going to be dealt it will have to feature a package with the No. 10 overall pick.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport revealed that all is currently quiet on the Samuel trade front, but “one phone call can change it, but nothing is currently imminent”:
From NFL Now: With the clock ticking prior to tomorrow’s first round of the NFL Draft, all is quiet on the Deebo Samuel front. One phone call can change it. But nothing currently imminent.
Waiting for the Right Moment
General manager Joe Douglas holds all the power in this upcoming 2022 NFL draft with nine overall selections and four of those within the first two rounds.
If he wants to push all the chips into the middle of the table, he can do that without mortgaging the future of the franchise.
The sacrifices of Darnold, Jamal Adams, and Chris Herndon made this treasure chest of assets possible. Now it is up to Douglas to make sure he doesn’t waste it.
If the Jets stay pat they’ll be in a really good position with all of those picks, but the key will be hitting on those. Gang Green has had great selection opportunities in past drafts, but they blew the picks so it didn’t matter.
Now they’re in a unique position, do they stay and take a bunch of unknown college prospects? Or do they do what will be required to get a proven commodity that can immediately help out your young quarterback?
It isn’t an easy decision, especially considering as soon as you acquire Samuel you’re handing him a mega extension to make him among the highest-paid wide receivers in football.
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