Jets' dream trade scenario may be the clearest path to a franchise quarterback

The New York Jets have been searching for their next franchise quarterback since the days of Joe Willie Namath, but that search appears to be extending for at least another season.

New York is unlikely to find their franchise guy this offseason. The draft doesn't feature many can't-miss quarterback prospects, but the 2027 class projects to have several guys go in the top-10 picks.

Luckily, the Jets are armed with three first-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft and are uniquely positioned to move up and down the board no matter how their season turns out in 2026.

But in Bleacher Report's dream trade scenario for Gang Green, they could find a way to have even more control in that loaded quarterback draft class.

Jets dream trade scenario would be landing a fourth 2027 first round pick

B/R's Moe Moton gave each NFL team a dream trade scenario entering the 2026 offseason, and for the Jets, he lists the possibility of trading back in April's draft and picking up another first-round pick in 2027, bringing the team's total up to four.

"General manager Darren Mougey should play the long game for his franchise quarterback. Assuming he has the leeway to retain his job for another year, the Jets can roll with a bridge-gap signal-caller in 2026 and then maneuver for a top quarterback prospect and a few other high-end collegiate standouts next offseason. "

Moe Moton

I think any Jets fan would be open to the idea of trading back in the 2026 NFL Draft. It's not like there's a can't-miss, generational prospect on the board that they would be missing out on, despite the talent of players like Ohio State's Arvell Reese or Texas Tech's David Bailey.

The possibility of having four first-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft is a tantalizing one, in a class that is absolutely filled to the brim with talent.

Texas' Arch Manning, Oregon's Dante Moore, and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers expect to headline the class, just to name a few. And that's not even factoring in non-quarterback prospects like Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith.

Having four first-round picks gives the Jets the possibility of doing anything they want, including trading up to No. 1 if they felt like packaging all the picks together to make an offer no team could refuse.

Alternatively, they could take a page out of the 2000 NFL Draft, the only other time New York had four selections in the first round.

It was a franchise-altering draft, landing four players who would go on to have long NFL careers in defensive end Shaun Ellis, edge John Abraham, quarterback Chad Pennington, and tight end Anthony Becht.

Either way, the Jets can't go wrong landing themselves an extra pick in 2027. As always in any NFL trade, though, it takes two to tango, and another team would have to be willing to move up.