Inside the Jets' audacious path to 2027 after a franchise-altering teardown

In one of the most seismic days in franchise history, the New York Jets tore down their foundation.

On Tuesday, hours before the 2025 trade deadline, general manager Darren Mougey executed two blockbuster moves that sent shockwaves across the NFL, trading All-Pro corner Sauce Gardner to the Colts and interior presence Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys.

Two homegrown stars, two cornerstone pieces gone — and yet, the Jets believe this is how they finally build something lasting.

For a franchise long stuck between mediocrity and delusion, the moves were a jarring admission of where things stand. At 1–7, under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, the Jets are no longer pretending the season can be salvaged.

They sold two of their best players at maximum value and then tried an impossible sell — that winning is still a priority. The truth, though, is that the real win comes potentially two years from now.

The trade haul was massive. For Gardner, the Jets received first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 and wideout Adonai Mitchell, giving them a young, ascending talent to pair with Garrett Wilson.

The Williams deal brought back a 2026 second-rounder, 2027 first-round pick, and former Day 1 pick in defensive tackle Mazi Smith, a younger, cheaper player who the Jets believe can make an impact.

It was the type of forward-looking maneuver the Jets have too often resisted. “We had these offers that we just felt were too good for the team,” Mougey said.

Those words, understated as they were, will define the next phase of the Jets’ rebuild. The organization now controls the top of the next two draft boards: two first-round picks and two seconds in 2026, plus three (!!!) first-round picks and a second-rounder in 2027.

It’s an unprecedented stockpile for a franchise that has historically failed to draft well, but it provides what Mougey and Glenn craved — options. For all the talk of immediate pain, the long-term potential is staggering as the 2027 NFL Draft could be one of the most talent-rich in league history.

The Jets are already looking ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft

With potential headliners like Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, Texas' Arch Manning, Florida’s DJ Lagway, South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart, Alabama wideout Ryan Williams, Georgia safety KJ Bolden, and Texas edge Colin Simmons, it could rival the historic 2011 class in top-end talent.

For Mougey and Glenn, the Jets now have the flexibility to land multiple foundational players, or to package picks and move up for a true franchise quarterback if one emerges, or if that situation arises and they're further down the board than they expected.

That’s the long game. The short term will hurt.

The Jets took on nearly $43 million in dead cap charges through 2026 to make the moves happen, according to Spotrac. Gardner had only signed his record-breaking four-year, $120.4 million extension 112 days ago, and Williams’ $130 million deal just a season earlier was supposed to anchor the defense for a decade.

Instead, the Jets have ripped up their timeline, leaving only Wilson, running back Breece Hall, and defensive end Jermaine Johnson as notable pieces still in green.

Mougey insisted on Tuesday evening that this isn’t a teardown, but it’s as close to one as a team can stage while publicly claiming otherwise.

“That’s what the fans deserve, that’s what the players deserve, that’s what the coaches deserve,” Mougey said.

"That never changes. The focus is winning Sunday against the Browns, and that’s the only focus in this entire building right now.”

No one is buying it.

Glenn’s first season was always going to be transitional, but now it’s something more profound — a reset to the studs. The Jets are betting that Glenn’s leadership, culture-building, and defensive background will keep the team competitive enough to avoid total collapse while their front office assembles ammunition for the future.

And it’s clear patience has been promised. Both Mougey and Glenn will be afforded time, and likely another offseason or two, to reshape the roster in their image.

The goal isn’t 2025, or even 2026 – it’s 2027, when the team will have the financial freedom (a projected $117 million in cap space) and draft capital to finally lay a foundation that can last.

It’s an audacious plan, one that comes with enormous risk. The Jets now hold the blueprint to rebuild the roster faster than anyone imagined, but only if they hit on those picks.

History says that’s far from guaranteed, but for a franchise long defined by false dawns and half-measures, this feels like something different: a true organizational reset, one that admits the present is broken but dares to dream about what could come next.

By 2027, when those picks turn into players — perhaps a quarterback like Manning or Lagway, a game-breaking wideout like Smith, or a defensive phenom like Stewart — the Jets will have their shot to finally establish new pillars.

For now, though, in Florham Park, the teardown is complete.