Jets’ latest trade heist deemed a ‘minor miracle’ after scout’s harsh review

The NFL is all about earning victories in the finer margins of roster building, and that's exactly what New York Jets general manager managed to do with his trade of Derrick Nnadi last week.

Nnadi was signed by the Jets in the offseason with the hope that he could compete for the starting 1-tech job. But following an underwhelming summer, the longtime Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle found himself on the outside looking in at the roster bubble.

The expectation was that Nnadi would be released as part of final roster cuts, but the Jets somehow managed to find a taker, sending the veteran defensive tackle back to Kansas City in exchange for a swap of 2027 sixth and seventh-round picks.

The return was minimal, but the fact that the Jets were able to get anything at all for him was considered a win. Even people around the NFL were surprised by the trade.

Jets pulled off a minor trade heist in their Derrick Nnadi deal

On a recent episode of the Flight Deck podcast, ESPN's Rich Cimini revealed that he spoke to an anonymous NFL scout who offered a blunt assessment of Nnadi, while praising the Jets for their end of the deal.

The scout insisted that Nnadi "looked washed" this summer and that it should be considered a "minor miracle" that the Jets were able to get anything in return for him in a trade.

The Jets signed Nnadi to a one-year, $1.4 million contract this offseason, and the expectation was that he was the favorite to start alongside Quinnen Williams at defensive tackle to open the year.

But the former Florida State standout struggled mightily in training camp and the preseason, finishing with an abysmal 47.3 Pro Football Focus grade this summer. Nnadi was the second-lowest-graded defensive lineman on the Jets' roster, ahead of just practice squad defensive end Eric Watts.

He also failed to record a single pressure on 38 pass-rush snaps and finished with a lowly 50.4 PFF run defense grade. Nnadi was one of the worst defensive linemen on the roster this summer, and that includes undrafted players who couldn't even make the practice squad.

Of course, swapping what will likely be a late 2027 sixth-round pick for what should be an early 2027 seventh-round pick isn't exactly significant. In fact, the conditional nature of the trade means that the swap might not even go through (the terms of the conditions are unclear).

But getting anything even remotely of value — no matter how small — for a player who was that bad this summer and a guaranteed roster cut is a win on the part of Mougey and the Jets.

It's not just Jets fans who are saying it, either. Evidently, those around the NFL appear to agree.

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