The NFL trade deadline has come and gone as the New York Jets made no moves at all to help their team this season. They continue to fail where it matters most and that is in the development of Sam Darnold.
Wide receiver Quincy Enunwa is out for at least another two, maybe even three weeks. Robby Anderson missed Week 8 action due to an ankle injury as there is no telling if he’ll miss more game time. The best wide receiver the New York Jets have that is healthy is Jermaine Kearse who is nowhere near a No. 1 receiving option.
One would think that general manager Mike Maccagnan would have pulled the trigger and made a trade to at least bolster the wide receiver corps of the Jets but sadly, he did not. Now, the Jets, 3-5 for a second straight season at the midseason mark, once again dropped the ball.
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, a player that would have been perfect for the Jets to acquire to continue the development of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, was traded from the Denver Broncos to the Houston Texans.
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Believe it or not, all it took was a fourth-round draft pick and both teams swapping seventh-round picks. This would have been a move that would have earned high grades for the Jets if it happened. Sadly, Maccagnan chose to not make such a move and well, will leave Darnold playing with a subpar receiving corps that look like they nowhere near starting material.
Expectations were and should continue to be low for the Jets this current season since they don’t have the necessary talent to be a serious playoff contender. They have issues all across the roster but a glaring one being a lack of offensive playmakers that can get the job week in, week out.
Worse of all, the talent behind their starters at wide receiver is abysmal. Without Enunwa and Anderson in the lineup, the Jets could barely get anything going on offense. They failed to keep those chains moving and forget about scoring touchdowns consistently since they don’t have the right talent at wide receiver for Darnold to thrive in.
This should have been something that pushed Maccagnan to make a move, any kind of move, to trade for a wide receiver that can at least start now and be a difference-maker on offense and possibly over the first few years of Darnold’s career. Thomas would have been better than anyone currently on the roster and be an invaluable asset to Darnold’s development.
With no moves made at the trade deadline, now all one can look forward to at wide receiver is more dropped passes, annoying miscues, and a lot more frustration. There is still a lot of football left to be played and hope that Darnold escapes this season without losing his mind and confidence due to a severe lack of talent supporting him.