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The New York Jets’ newly installed braintrust executed a sensible if unspectacular debut draft in April. Head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey recognized the team’s most glaring needs and addressed them. Still, a team that finished 5-12 last season and hasn’t reached the playoffs in 14 years is more than one sensible draft away from fixing its roster. A number of holes remain and the Jets could address their deficiencies though the trade market.
But before proceeding with potential trade targets to round out the Jets' roster, it should be noted that the team, under Glenn’s direction, doesn’t seem likely to make a splash this offseason. During the wild and reckless Aaron Rodgers era, the Jets were wheeling and dealing, operating under the assumption that they were always just an acquisition away from contending for a title.
That approach cost the coaching staff and front office execs their jobs as the organization was gutted following the 2024 season. Now the pendulum has swung back in the other direction. Glenn and company don’t seem focused on winning in 2025. Of course they want to win. But that’s not the primary objective in Year 1. Instead the emphasis has been on getting younger and building a culture from the ground up.
So, using draft capital or taking on salary to add players that could help the Jets make a playoff run in 2025 is somewhat antithetical to the new shot callers’ philosophy. But, at the end of the day, Woody Johnson still owns the team. And while Johnson accepted responsibility for some of the Jets’ dysfunction, and he’s indicated that he’ll take a step back to give Glenn space to run the team, the owner’s new hands-off approach isn’t going to last forever. Johnson wants to see the embarrassing playoff drought end. If it doesn’t, sooner or later the meddling will resume.
With all that in mind, here are three trade targets the Jets should – but probably won’t – pursue this offseason.
Let’s begin by addressing the elephant in the room. The Jets need a WR2. New York has a budding superstar in Garrett Wilson. The former Offensive Rookie of the Year is the only player in franchise history to begin his career with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. And considering the assortment of quarterbacks he’s worked with since being selected in the first round of the 2022 draft, the feat is all the more impressive. The Jets picked up Wilson’s fifth-year option but the team needs to sign him to an extension that keeps him in New York long term.
Wilson has been great regardless of who’s under center for New York. And now he’ll reunite with his former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. But opposite Wilson, the Jets run into problems. Allen Lazard is the team’s WR2 on paper. But the seventh-year wideout is clearly not part of the Jets’ future. And he may not be part of its present either. New York could still decide to trade or cut Lazard prior to training camp.
Yes, Lazard restructured his contract, taking a big pay cut for the 2025 season. But regardless of salary, his on-field contributions leave a lot to be desired. Lazard, who turns 30 this year, has never caught more than 60 passes in a season. He’s never had 800 receiving yards. And drops are a persistent problem. He had the sixth-highest drop percentage among wideouts last season.
In the right situation, Lazard could be a perfectly cromulent WR3/4. But that’s not a luxury the Jets have. And they can’t rely on him as the No. 2 option.
Beyond Lazard, the Jets have the newly acquired Josh Reynolds. While the eighth-year veteran was a solid depth signing for New York, he hasn’t given any indication that he’s capable of producing as the number two option either.
Second-year receiver Malachi Corley is still a work in progress and rookie fourth-rounder Arian Smith seems to be a developmental project.
However, there is a wide receiver out there that would be an ideal fit as the Jets' WR2. And he could be available at a reasonable price.
Rescue Romeo
Romeo Doubs is a talented young wideout who’s yet to reach his full potential in the Green Bay Packers’ crowded receivers room. Doubs had already been competing for targets with Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks. But then the Packers used their first-round pick in the 2025 draft on former Texas receiver Matthew Golden. Then, for some reason, Green Bay doubled down on rookie pass catchers, taking TCU standout Savion Williams in the third round and creating an even bigger glut at the position.
With Doubs entering the final year of his rookie deal this season, the Packers should be open to a trade. Moving the wideout would clear space for Green Bay’s plethora of pass catchers while also allowing the team to get something in return for Doubs before he walks in free agency.
At 6’2” and 200 pounds, Doubs would give the Jets a big-bodied, contested catch specialist – an ideal fit opposite the speedy and shifty Wilson. Still just 25 years old, Doubs is a strong route runner who’s demonstrated an ability to score, as evidenced by his eight-touchdown campaign in 2023.
While his stats over the first three years of his career don’t jump off the page, Doubs simply hasn’t had the chance to work consistently as the second option in the passing game. With the Jets, he’d get that opportunity.
The Jets should get Cole Kmet
Sticking with offensive weapons, the Jets should also consider making an offer for Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet. Like Doubs, Kmet has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason. And also like Doubs, the sixth-year veteran would be a good fit for New York.
It became clear that Kmet was the odd man out in Chicago when new head coach Ben Johnson chose to prioritize tight end in the draft. The Bears grabbed Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick, casting doubt over Kmet’s role in the team’s new offense.
Yes, the Jets drafted a tight end as well, as New York selected Mason Taylor out of LSU in the second round. While Taylor has all the physical traits you could hope for in a tight end as well as Hall of Fame genetics (his father is former Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor), he remains something of a wild card.
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Taylor posted modest numbers in college. He had his best season in 2024, catching 55 passes for 546 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, he plays a position that tends to require a lengthy adjustment period in the NFL, as rookie tight ends rarely break out (with some recent notable exceptions).
The Jets lost veteran TE Tyler Conklin in free agency, leaving them with only Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt for depth at the position. That means the team is relying on Taylor to make a seamless adjustment to the pros and out-produce his college stats as a rookie in the NFL.
Even if Taylor does defy the odds and levels up in his debut season, Kmet would still be a good addition for New York. He already has chemistry with new Jets quarterback Justin Fields, as the two spent three seasons together in Chicago. Kmet had his best receiving campaign with Fields under center in 2023 (73 receptions, 719 yards, six touchdowns).
Additionally, Fields has favored throwing to tight ends throughout his career. So catering to that preference by using 12 personnel would be wise. Despite the contract hedge, the Jets have indicated that they’re all in on Fields and eager to see him earn the starting job long term. Adding a familiar, dependable security blanket like Kmet would go a long way toward ensuring his success.
With the most pressing offensive needs addressed, it’s time to turn to the defense. The Jets have been strong defensively since Robert Saleh turned things around for the franchise – New York went from the worst overall defensive team in football in 2021 to fourth best in 2022. Despite the team’s struggles last season, New York ranked third in overall defense.
The Jets lost defensive back D.J. Reed in free agency and parted ways with veteran linebacker C.J. Mosley this offseason. Still, the secondary should be OK with Brandon Stephens joining Sauce Gardner for 2025. And Jamien Sherwood essentially started in place of Mosley all last season without the linebacker corps missing a beat.
However, the Jets’ defensive line is not in great shape. Defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas both signed elsewhere in free agency, leaving New York thin at the interior. The team still has All-Pro Quinnen Williams. But he could use some help in the middle of the D-line.
Fixing a hole
The Jets would benefit by adding a run-stopper as they were far weaker against the rush than the pass in 2024. And that disparity could be even greater this season if the defensive interior isn’t addressed.
There are actually two strong options for the Jets. Veteran defensive tackle D.J Reader had a bit of a down year in 2024 but he’s consistently graded out as one of the league’s top interior defenders. And Aaron Glenn is familiar with the 30-year-old D-lineman having coached him in Detroit.
Reader is a dependable veteran on an expiring contract. The Lions have Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike at the defensive tackle position and the team just spent their first-round pick in the 2025 draft on another DT, Ohio State product Tyleik Williams. So Detroit could be motivated to move Reader at a reasonable price.
Sebastian Joseph-Day is another, more cost-effective option to beef up the Jets’ interior defense. Joseph-Day re-signed with the Tennessee Titans during the offseason on a one-year, $6.5 million deal. However, the Titans are invested in T’Vondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons in the interior and could be open to flipping the 30-year-old veteran.
Joseph-Day only played about half the defensive snaps for the Titans last season but he graded out as a strong run defender, ranking eighth out of 219 DTs in 2024.
While adding any of these players would make the Jets a better team this season, New York is an unlikely candidate to pull off a trade – at least, a trade in which talent is acquired, as Lazard could very well be moved.
The 2025 season has a redshirt feel for the Jets as Glenn seems intent on a very deliberate culture build that could take years to bear fruit. In the meantime, the focus is on developing young talent and seeing what he has in the inherited roster. Still, if the Jets are serious about Fields as a long term starter, upgrading the talent around him is essential.
