Jets Keep Winning From Sam Darnold Trade

The New York Jets keep winning from the franchise-shaking Sam Darnold trade that happened in 2021.

During the time quarterback Sam Darnold played for the Jets, he didn’t put up numbers expected from a 3rd pick in the 1st round of the NFL Draft.  The Jets traded Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for three picks: a second-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and a sixth-round pick. In addition, they were able to draft Zach Wilson with the second pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

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Recently, the Panthers gave away only a fifth-round pick in exchange for quarterback Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns. While this is mainly due to receiving a financial burden on the Panthers’ end, if we were to compare the trades, three draft picks for Darnold and one for Mayfield, the Jets got a much better end of the deal. The New York Jets were able to clear some cap space, as Darnold’s financial burden was removed.

Now, this didn’t immediately make the Jets a championship team. However, general manager Joe Douglas was able to get rid of Sam Darnold in exchange for a more promising quarterback and extra picks, according to various sources. Jets reporter Connor Hughes had noted differences between Darnold and Wilson back in 2021, saying:

“Having watched a chunk of Wilson’s organized team activity practices and all of the mandatory minicamp, there’s a strong difference between what he’s doing and what Darnold did their first offseasons.”

He went on to say that Darnold was “very much a rookie”, as he was going incomplete in team drills and overall showed that he wasn’t yet ready to usher in a new era for the Jets.

It’s hard to say this move is an obvious benefit, because the Jets had to tear down the 3-year efforts they put in to building a team around Sam Darnold. However, there are organizational benefits from this that can be seen

The Jets also have a better offensive core with wide receivers like Jamison Crowder, Denzel Mims, Keelan Cole, Corey Davis, and Elijah Moore.

But perhaps the most improved aspect that came out of this draft is the relationship between the coaching staff.  Douglas had this to say about Jets coach Robert Saleh and the coaching staff:

“You get into these meetings, and there’s such a clear-cut plan. There’s such great teaching methods that they have in place. And just going through these conversations, it’s reinforced the excitement that you had when we made the hire. These are great guys, man. They have the vision and they have a plan and it makes your job easier from a personnel perspective when there is that clear vision in what they’re looking for — like, O.K., this is easy, we can find guys that are made of the right stuff. It’s been cool. It’s been really cool.”

The organization is finally collaborative and able to work together to try and create a better era of Jets football. Zach Wilson still has much to prove; his first season stats were worse than Darnold’s. However, most Jets fans agree that they look more forward to what Zach Wilzon and the Jets organization can produce out of this.


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