The more I think about it, Joe Douglas will either get a great deal that no one has expected for Watson, or (more likely) the Jets will move on. I really do like Zach Wilson and Justin Fields. I also like Sam Darnold and the thought of building around one of these young QB's.
The Jets will have to negotiate with Watson what they will trade to the Texans for him? Watson has a no trade clause; he has to approve any trade the Texans make. Watson would benefit most by the Jets, or any other team that wants him, to underpay for him not overpay.
Since 2000 the Baltimore Ravens have been in the playoffs 13 out of 20 Seasons, with 2 Superbowls. I wouldn’t consider the term elite QB and them not only not in the same sentence but the whole fucking paragraph. In an 11 year span before Ben, Cowher led the Steelers to 8 playoff appearances, 4 Conference Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance with Neil O’Donnell, Kordell Stewart, Tommy Maddox and Mike Tomczak all leading the team to the playoffs. That is just 2 examples there are more.
I won't speak for anyone else that wants Deshaun but I know that he alone won't make us SB contenders but he absolutely gets us a step closer than we are right now. If he can be had for something that doesn't decimate our draft capital or wrecks JD's ability to build a contender, I'm all for it. The great thing about this offseason is that we have so many options. Do we trade for Deshaun? Do we stay at 2 and take Wilson or Fields? Do we trade down a bit and get a guy like DeVonta Smith/Ja'Marr Chase? Do we trade down a lot and get future 1st(s) from a team that's infatuated with Wilson/Fields? Only time will tell but for the first time in a long time, I'm actually excited about the future and optimistic that we have a guy at GM that can turn this thing around. Also, for the record, I do believe that Chase will have a better pro career than Smith. Not that I think Smith will be bad by any means but that's just how highly I think of Chase.
I did not say the Jets have to negotiate with Watson. Houston will take the best and highest bid and get Watson to waive the clause. They are not going to go any further than that. What is he going to say? Say no to this team ,or that team, bring me another team. Only if two bids are comparable he might have an input.
Fair enough. I agree with most of your post and in the end we are getting something really good. I'll be happy with whatever it is, except giving up too much for Watson. Here is a random stat. Last season Smith had 85 receptions that either went for a 1st down or a TD. In comparison, during the year that Chase impressed he had 84 receptions total.
I agree...trading up for Sam is NOTHING like trading for Watson. With Sam, we gave up second round picks. While Watson will require at least there FRIST round picks, including #2 overall. So yes, those two have nothing in common. And the struggles had building a team without our second round picks is meaningless because JD will be able to build a competitive team without our first round picks, just because.
For sure, as good as Watson is, there is a limit to what we could offer and not wreck our chances of building a contender. Hey, I get it, I love Smith and think he'll be a fantastic player for a long time. I just like Chase more. Think about it this way, Chase only had 76 fewer yards while having 33 fewer receptions. He did have 3 fewer TD's as well but still a super impressive season. Just to have everyone compare: 2019 Ja'Marr Chase: 84 receptions, 1780 yards, 20 TD's 2020 DeVonta Smith: 117 receptions, 1856 yards, 23 TD's Both are insane statlines.
The two years in between football games doesn't worry you? I also think Chase was a bit more one dimensional. Not that he can't do other things in the confines of an NFL offense, but he simply didn't in college because he was so elite at running the nine route. It opened everything up for Jefferson & friends. I'm sure some of these opt outs will be fine. But I imagine it'll affect others. They didn't just opt out of games, they opted out of practices and being in a football environment for a full year.
Media scrutiny should be the least of their concerns. If we trade for Watson and it blows up in our face, we still simply haven't relinquished the title of Same Ol' Jets. But I really don't care what Skip and Shannon are going to have to say about it. And the Jets shouldn't either. They should try to go get an elite player at the most important position and build around him.
Personally hell no I would not do that. The #2 overall is worth at least 2 1sts in terms of value itself. That's like 5 1sts for Watson. He's not good enough to elevate a team with little supporting cast. I wouldn't even do that deal without the 2023 1st included. #2, plus another 1st, plus Darnold. That would be my max offer. The Texans have no leverage in this mess they created.
They have plenty of leverage because it's not Jets or bust. They can walk away and send them to one of the several suitors who will give them what they want.
This is what a lot of people who want to trade numerous 1st round picks for Watson fail to understand for some reason. He was 4-12 on the Texans this year and can just as easily be 4-12 here in New York when we trade away all of our draft picks to get him. And he can just as easily be demanding a trade this time next year after we go 4-12 and then we are completely screwed.
They have a mess of a situation, and a player who will not play for them any longer. A situation all of their own creation. What is their leverage to get 4 1st round picks from any team? Not many teams have multiple 1sts available, and no team can afford to deal 4 of them. But hey if they can get it, congrats to them, there's plenty of other team building options in front of us.
Teams can trade future picks. They obviously want to get as much capital as soon as possible, but given the absolute mess of drafting/cap situation that's been created, I'm sure they'd settle for three or four first round picks spread over several years rather than two immediately and a backup quarterback.