Despite rumors, NY Jets should not shell out assets for a WR2

Ever since the New York Jets opened training camp in July, analysts and fans understood that the depth chart had a gaping hole on the offensive side of the ball.

Having a quality second option at receiver opposite Garrett Wilson was a luxury the Jets chose to ignore for the most part during the offseason. Veterans like Josh Reynolds and Tyler Johnson were picked up, but neither would be the WR2 on most other NFL teams.

As reported by Dianna Ru ssini of The Athletic, the Jets are exploring the trade market to solve their concerns at receiver.

With just a few weeks separating the final preseason game on Friday from the season opener in early September, New York has little time to bring in a player and get him ready to play in a new system and with a new quarterback.

On top of that, it just doesn’t make sense from a value standpoint for New York to allocate resources toward a WR2 right now – not with this scheme or this quarterback.

Numbers behind Jets’ WR2 needs

The moment Justin F ields was signed to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2025, the Jets made it clear that they were adopting a run-first approach.

Fields’ arrival and the numbers he’s put up throughout his four-year career show why a WR2 won’t be necessary this season.

While New York’s starting quarterback has yet to play in a full 17-game season, Fields has averaged about 426 pass attempts per 17 starts throughout his career. That would have put the Jets dead last in pass attempts during the 2024 season by more than 20 attempts behind the closest team.

If we are to infer that Fields can stay fully healthy for a full 17 games, then we can use that 426 as a benchmark for the Jets’ passing offense.

New York already has a No. 1 receiver who projects to take a large portion of the targets. F resh off a lucrative contract extension, Garrett Wilson averaged over 156 targets throughout his three-year run with the organization.

If we remove all potential targets from Wilson, then Fields will throw the ball just 270 times to other players on the roster.

Before even getting to the other wide receivers, this complex conundrum has to consider the other two skill positions.

Running back Breece Hall is considered one of the better receiving backs in the game. His three-year average for targets hovers around 86 per 17 games. Subtract that from 270, and Fields is down to 184 additional passes to the rest of the Jets’ offensive weapons.

That’s 184 to Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, all of th e tight ends, and potentially four other receivers on the 53-man roster.

It’s safe to say that it’s not enough for a potential WR2 to not only be satisfied, but to make a positive mark on a team that would be giving up draft capital to acquire him. Simply put, the way New York will operate on offense this year is not conducive to investing in a quality second receiving option on the outside.

If the Jets were to acquire a receiver in the trade market, they would likely be coming in to catch around 70 targets. That isn’t enough to warrant a trade before the season.

Timing matters

The numbers support the Jets’ decision to avoid bringing in a second receiver on the trade market. There isn’t enough value to warrant giving up draft capital at this stage of the team’s new regime.

There is another part to this, though.

If New York had acquired a veteran receiver in a trade before training camp, then they would have had a month for that newcomer to be brought in and learn how to play with both Fields and the new offense.

Should the Jets opt for a trade now, the receiver would only have a handful of practice time to work with his new quarterback and learn where to be in the new offense. That simply isn’t enough time before the regular season starts.

The Jets would be setting this new addition up for failure before he even takes the field.

At the end of the day, the numbers and provided context show that any deal for a second receiving option would be a poor usage of resources at this stage of the year and with this kind of quarterback on the roster.

New York wants to be a run-first team this offseason. Darren Mougey built the roster for that very plan. It’s clear they should stick with that moving forward.