Gang Green Nation
The Jets added a pair of defensive tackles, Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs, via trade on Wednesday. Let’s discuss the implications.
1. I tend to doubt that either of these trades will be remembered in the long run.
Sorry to disappoint those of you who tuned in looking for a scorching take on how these were either incredible value deals or total disasters for the Jets. It’s just the truth. The compensation surrendered was minimal, and the odds of either of these players having lasting Jets legacies is just as minimal.
2. Of the two deals, the trade for Phillips makes significantly more sense to me.
The Jets clearly need an upgrade at defensive tackle. Other than Quinnen Williams, the position is full of question marks. Phillips’ play over the last couple of years against the run has seen some regression, but he’s been a quality run stopper at defensive tackle in the past while carrying decently large snap totals. I’m not sure I would feel this way if the Jets hadn’t gotten the Vikings to pay half his salary, but given how little the cost is I can see taking a shot on him hoping for a bounceback. He’s 29, and since a run stopping defensive tackle’s game is based more on strength than raw athletic ability players in this role can be effective well into their 30s. The fact the Vikings are willing to take such scant compensation and pay him $3.7 million to play for the Jets suggest they don’t think a bounceback is all that likely. Still, I can understand why the Jets would take this low risk gamble.
3. The Jets must think Briggs is a big talent under his seventh round pedigree.
The Briggs trade was announced before the Phillips trade yesterday. At first I was struggling to understand the logic behind it. I settled into the idea that the Jets perhaps believed Briggs could handle a starting level workload, which admittedly felt like a stretch. Then came the Phillips trade, which likely pushes Briggs into a rotational role. It’s not like the Jets gave up anything to be upset over. It’s tough to give up less in a trade than a 6-7 pick swap. Still, if the Browns were willing to take that, it’s a sign that they were almost certain to cut him. If the Jets had just waited a couple of days, they probably could have gotten Briggs for free off the waiver wire with their high priority in the claim process. The only real logic I can come up with for a trade under these circumstances is that they believe there is more than meets the eye, and this was a player they couldn’t take a small risk losing.
I don’t think I ultimately would have made either trade, but I don’t feel passionately about the trades either way. What do you think?
