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Obviously he’s very talented and perhaps the most explosive offensive player in the league.
So the Jets interest in possible trading for WR Tyreek Hill made sense. Hill ended up getting traded to the Miami Dolphins
However, is it possible Joe Douglas also had something else up his sleeve related to his reported interest in Hill?
Maybe, since Miami, a division rival, was the other serious trade partner for Kansas City, perhaps he wanted to drive up the asking price, and make Miami give up extra valuable draft capital?
The Dolphins traded five draft picks to Kansas City for the player: a 2022 1st-round pick (No. 29), a 2nd-round pick (No. 50) and a 4th-round pick, along with 4th- and 6th-round picks in the 2023 draft.
Not saying the Jets weren’t interested in Hill. Who wouldn’t be? But making a division rival give up so many draft picks, which could hurt their ability to fill other needs, isn’t a bad thing either.
Hill also clearly didn’t want to play for the Jets. He wanted to play for the Dolphins. He wanted to be in Florida. Great weather and no state income tax, so he will take home a bigger chunk of the 4-year, $120 million deal with $72.2 million guaranteed he is signing.
It was a little surprising Douglas was considering going into this financial stratosphere with a player, especially considering his QB who isn’t “settled science.” In other words, the Jets don’t know exactly what they have yet in Zach Wilson.
So trading for Hill now, might have been putting the cart before the horse.
Wilson has a lot of talent, great tools, but he has a lot to work on. He needs to improve his footwork, mechanics, accuracy and take his ability to read defenses to a higher level.
This just in – great receivers can’t magically improve a quarterback’s footwork, mechanics, accuracy and field vision. Not related. It doesn’t work that way.
Many people don’t understand this.
If the Jets had traded for Hill, would it have helped their offense? Of course. He’s a rare talent.
But receivers aren’t magic pills that fix a quarterback’s shortcomings.
Did any of the receivers brought it to Chicago when Mitch Trubisky was there make a big difference in improving his game? Not really.
Did having Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham at receiver in Cleveland make Baker Mayfield much better. Not really.
Look at Arizona last year.
I could go on.
I want to make something perfectly clear. I’m not saying Wilson is Trubisky or Mayfield. It’s too early to tell. He is only 22 and has a huge upside. We will find out the next couple of years whether he can turn into a top-shelf NFL QB.
But one thing you shouldn’t do, is spend a fortune on weapons thinking that is going to be a transform your young developing QB into a star. The things listed above that Wilson needs to improve, aren’t fixed by weapons.
Do you need good weapons? Of course. The Jets have some good ones like Elijah Moore and Michael Carter, and will add more in the draft. They added a couple of talented tight ends in free agency. They will likely pick a receiver high in the draft.
So you could make the argument the time wasn’t right to make the Hill trade.
And maybe Douglas never thought it was going to happen, but got heavily involved to drive the price up for a division rival, and to also show the Jets Nation he is all-in on turning this thing around. No stone will be left unturned.
I’m not saying he’s wasn’t interested in trading for Hill. The player is so talented, of course you should explore it.
But reading the tea leaves, the Dolphins, in a state Hill, who is from the South, wanted to play, clearly were the favorites throughout the process, and Douglas probably knew that.
March 24, 2022
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