Obviously much of what makes news just before the draft turns out to be part of an orchestrated smoke-screen of misinformation sent out to mask an organizations true intention. Normally, I would immediately chalk up the recent speculation that the Jets might have interest in Tent Richardson as pure gamesmanship. Surely a team that has much bigger needs at positions like OT, OLB, S and WR would not consider giving up the number of picks required to jump from the 16 spot to the 3 spot for what most would consider a luxury pick.
However, with Mr. T’s well documented proclivity for moving up, one needs to consider the possibility. As I looked at the math in swapping draft picks, it just didn’t add up. It is widely thought that the Browns will take Richardson with their 4th overall pick; so that would mean that the Jets would need to get the Viking’s 3rd overall pick if they want Richardson. While the old draft chart is not as accurate as it once was now that the rookie wage scale is in place, it is still a useful tool. According to it, the number 3 pick has a value of 2,200. All of the Jets picks (excluding the compensatory ones as they can not be included in a trade) are collectively less than 1,700. The Jets would need to dip into future drafts to make the deal work.
However, what if the Jets were to trade the person who, by the end of his career, I believe will be the consensus best CB in the history of the NFL? We’ve all seen the hold-out chatter AGAIN. We know that the Jets do not get along with Revis’ agent. We also know that the Buccaneers are sitting with the 5th overall pick are in need of a CB. They also have a lot of money to spend. If this deal were to happen, I could see the Jets trading Revis to the Buccaneers for the 5th overall pick and then trading the 5th pick to the Vikings to get the Viking’s 3rd pick. To get the 3rd pick, the Jets would likely need to trade their 2nd and 3rd round selections (47th and 77th) for the Vikings 4th and 6th round selections (98th and 175th).
To be clear, I am not saying the Jets should do this deal. I certainly do not think they should. If anything, I think the Jets should trade down if possible. I am simply saying that, given the Jets track-record of moving up and the Revis contract issues, this could be a plausible scenario.