Pro Football Rumors
Twice this century, the Jets have made five first-round picks in a two-year span. Both instances brought degrees of success, with the first such two-fer -- 2000-01 -- setting the team up with a core responsible for producing playoff berths. The second instance (2021-22) supplied impact talent, but Tuesday's trades provide a significant amendment to that Joe Douglas-driven haul's legacy.
The Jets dealing Sauce Gardner -- the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 draft -- to the Colts leaves only Garrett Wilson and Jermaine Johnson as players from the 2021-22 first-round contingent signed beyond this season. In sending Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys, the Jets set themselves up for a draft redux. They will exit this season with five picks between the 2026 and '27 first rounds.
While dealing away players like Gardner and Williams obviously injects risk into the equation for Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey, this regime smartly cashed out when above-market offers came in. This will make for some hard(er)-to-watch Jets football to close out this season, but already being 1-7, not much will be lost here. And a mission statement now exists for the Glenn-Mougey regime, which now holds significant cap space and a draft war chest as yet another Jets rebuild is on tap.
What happened when the Jets previously enjoyed this rare opportunity?
Four other franchises have made five first-round picks in a two-draft span since 2000. It is largely not a good list to be on, as it includes the Browns (2017-18), Raiders (2019-20) and Dolphins (2020-21). The Vikings made seven first-round selections from 2012-14, with three coming in 2013, and that septet helped form the core for three Mike Zimmer-coached playoff teams. The 2000 Jets, however, are the best example of turning this rare opportunity into success in the modern NFL.
