INDIANAPOLIS — One year after making a blockbuster trade to move up in the draft, the New York Jets are willing to go in reverse if the price is right.
General manager Mike Maccagnan, speaking to reporters Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine, put a “For Sale” sign on the Jets’ pick, third overall.
“Right now, we feel good at No. 3, but I’d definitely say if there’s an opportunity to trade down, we would absolutely look at it,” he said.
Of course they would.
The Jets, with many holes on their roster, would love to recoup the draft capital they spent last March. To jump from sixth to third, where they selected quarterback Sam Darnold, they sent three second-round picks to the Indianapolis Colts.
This time, they hope a quarterback-hungry team is eager to jump up the way they did a year ago. One of those teams could be the New York Giants, who, coincidentally, own the sixth pick.
The local rivals haven’t made a trade since 1983 — and that was only a minor transaction — but Maccagnan said he wouldn’t rule out any team.
“Yeah, I think I would be open to any team that would,” he said, when asked specifically about the Giants. “As long as the trade made sense to us, there’s nothing that would stop us from doing that.”
The Jets called the Giants during the 2016 draft about a potential trade-up, but their offer fell short of the Giants’ asking price. A year ago, they never contacted the Giants, who picked second and chose running back Saquon Barkley. The Jets assumed the Giants would have demanded their 2019 first-round pick, and they didn’t want to part with it.
If they stay at three, the Jets would have their choice of defensive end Nick Bosa, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams or outside linebacker Josh Allen, the consensus top non-quarterbacks in the draft.
Maccagnan acknowledged the Jets might be better off with multiple picks instead of one high pick.
“If we end up picking a player at three, we’ll feel really good,” he said. “If there’s an opportunity for us to move back and acquire more picks, that’s something we’d definitely be potentially interested in. It would have to be the right kind of deal, but I definitely wouldn’t rule anything out at this point in time.”
Unfortunately for the Jets, there aren’t as many quarterback-needy teams and top quarterback prospects as a year ago, so the market might not be robust. Dwayne Haskins and Kyler Murray are considered the only potential top-10 picks at the position. Still, Maccagnan is hopeful.
“If there are teams out there looking to go chase a quarterback,” he said, “I think we’re in a pretty good position to be in. I don’t necessarily like how we got the third pick, but it’s a good pick to have.”