Darren Mougey is doing something no Jets general manager has done in recent history

It feels like almost every recent New York Jets general manager has had their moment in the sun, where they have the utmost belief and trust from the fanbase.

Joe Douglas was incredibly popular at the start of his tenure, thanks in most part to the return he got on the Jamal Adams trade and his 2022 draft class. But bad drafting caught up to him, and he ended his time as GM poorly, to say the least.

Heck, even Mike Maccagnan, who ended up getting fired in May 2019 after running the draft and free agency, was popular after his first season in New York. After all, it's not often the Jets win 10 games in a single season.

Darren Mougey, the current general manager of the Jets, is having his moment right now. His decisions, particularly trades, have been fairly popular with fans, and he certainly has the grace of Jets fans right now. Especially because of his propensity to extend good players.

Jets GM Darren Mougey's propensity to extend good, young Jets players

ESPN's Rich Cimini pointed out on a recent episode of The Jets Collective that Mougey has extended five players so far on his first two years on the job in New York, something that didn't see from Douglas and Maccagnan.

Since Mougey took over as general manager of the Jets in early 2025, he's extended six players, including linebacker Jamien Sherwood, young cornerstones Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, tight end Jeremy Ruckert, center Josh Myers, and, most recently, running back Breece Hall.

The only contract you could question is Sherwood's, who did not live up to expectations in 2025. But if we were to jump back in time to March 2025, you would be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn't have given the young linebacker that three-year $45 million contract.

Regardless, the point is Mougey has now extended more Jets players throughout his tenure than both Douglas and Maccagnan did in their collective 10 years on the job in New York, and that's a good thing.

The best NFL teams get their young contributors under contract as early as possible, getting ahead of markets and keeping talent happy. Under Maccagnan and Douglas, New York only extended Michael Carter II, Quinnen Williams, Quincy Enunwa, Brian Winters, and Muhammad Wilkerson.

Outside of Williams, it's safe to say none of those deals ended up working out in the Jets' favor.

So far, the early returns on Mougey's contracts have been much, much better.

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