The New York Jets have a lot of holes they must fill on the roster before having a chance at being successful in 2015, but the most glaring need might be the quarterback spot. Upgrades like Brandon Marshall, Stevan Ridley and Darrelle Revis are nice, but they mean nothing if Geno Smith cannot excel in his third year with the team. That has the Jets looking at multiple options heading into the NFL Draft which could include multiple trades.
In his pre-draft press conference, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan made it clear the team would be aggressive and is interested in both moving up and moving down in the draft. The quarterback position is a point of interest and the Jets are fielding plenty of calls about it.
"We're going to reach out to every team ahead of us and gauge the value of what they're looking for in compensation to move up in the draft," Maccagnan said, via NFL.com "That doesn't mean we're actually trying to go up necessarily and get a player but you hear what the market value is basically, and then what you do is see what unfolds with the first few picks and who is available. We'll have that discussion when we get to the draft -- if we want to move up in the draft. Philosophically, I'm not opposed to moving up in the draft to get a player if you feel if a player is going to be an extremely good player. ... I would personally want to (acquire more talent)."
According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, the Jets are not acquiring Jameis Winston. It is all but written in stone that Winston is heading to Tampa Bay. Cimini writes New York will either attempt to trade up in the first round for Marcus Mariota or trade down in the second round for more picks and quarterback like Bryce Petty or Garrett Grayson. Maccagnan likes the idea of acquiring more picks in the draft, but will not move down in the first round.
The Jets have also been linked to trade deals for both Mike Glennon and Kirk Cousins. According to Cimini, Glennon might not be as available as everyone thinks considering he is the only quarterback on the Buccaneers' roster and the team needs depth. CSN Washington is reporting that calls for Cousins are not coming in either and the Redskins might not be willing to deal since they also need depth behind Robert Griffin III. The Jets best chance to improve at the position is through the draft.