Underrated detail in Reddick trade may have major implication for first round of Jets’ draft

You know that feeling you get sometimes when you know you forgot something, but you can’t for the life of you think of what it is? That gnawing splinter in the back of your mind that is telling you something isn’t right? You walk in a room, and you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know something is off?

I have been looking at the Jets potential draft plan from every angle and something wasn’t adding up to me. I wrote the other day about the Jets chances of trading up or trading down and I almost completely dismissed the idea of them trading up because I just don’t think they have the resources. But still, that feeling.

And then my co-worker sent me a blurb from an article written by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell and it smacked me in the face. The Jets might already have a plan in place, and they have known since free agency. And the answer might have been hidden in an overlooked detail.

When the New York Jets made a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for pass rusher Haason Reddick, most fans quickly scanned the trade and were happy to see conditional third-round pick as the compensation. But if they read it too quickly, they missed the fact that the conditional pick was for the 2026 NFL Draft. Not the 2024 draft in a few weeks, and not the 2025 draft next year. But the one after that.

Many thought the move was smart by the Eagles, who believe that by 2026 the Jets will be worse because Rodgers will have retired or fallen off the proverbial cliff and thus they will get a better pick in the second-round. While that may be true, why would the Jets want to hold on to their 2025 pick?

Bill Barnwell believes there is a simple reason. He wrote “the fact the Jets kept their 2025 second-rounder and instead traded a 2026 pick to the Eagles for edge rusher Haason Reddick makes me think they're considering using that 2025 selection to help move up this year.”

It makes total sense. Making a draft day move and offering a pick two years from now gives very little value. But a second round pick next season packs a punch.

According to the Rich Hill chart, the Jets could package the 10^th overall pick, their third round pick (#72) and that 2024 second-round pick to move up to number five overall. Currently the Los Angeles Chargers have pick number five and have not been shy about a desire to acquire more draft capital.

And with the fifth pick in the draft, the Jets might be in a prime position for the best offensive lineman (Joe Alt out of Notre Dame) or the best wide receiver (Marvin Harrison Jr out of Ohio State) depending on how the first four picks shake out. At worst, they could be in a position to draft LSU’s Malik Nabers who many believe might be the best wideout in the draft.

The Jets brass has their backs against the wall to win now, so a Hail Mary play for a top player in the draft isn’t out of the question.