Jets reportedly turned down a shockingly high offer for Jermaine Johnson

In the midst of the New York Jets' franchise-changing fire sale, the one player rumored to be on the block that was thought to yield the greatest return stayed put. For weeks, Jermaine Johnson found himself at the center of trade rumors, yet after all the wheeling and dealing, he ended up staying put.

The chances of the Jets moving Johnson always seemed low, despite him being named as one of the earliest trade candidates not named Breece Hall. Darren Mougey had allegedly put the high price of a second-round pick on Johnson's head, and the conventional wisdom was that, despite significant interest, no team would meet the ask.

According to SNY's Connor Hughes, none of that seemed to be true.

The Jets reportedly were offered a second-round pick for Jermaine Johnson and still declined the trade

As the dust has settled on the deadline dealings, Hughes has reported that the Jets did, in fact, receive an offer of a second-round pick for Johnson, but it "wasn't something they were particularly interested in."

Second-round picks are valuable commodities in the NFL, but not all are created equal. A high second, like the one the Jets traded up for to draft Breece Hall back in 2022, is almost as valuable as a first.

In some ways, they're worth even more than a late-first due to the fact that the perceived value of certain positions, like running back, makes them more valuable because it's there that you might be able to snag the best available player at one of those lesser positions.

On the other hand, a late second isn't much different than a third, and therefore is much less appetizing.

It's still unknown who the team was that made the Jets the offer, so it's hard to say if the position of the second had any bearing on the Jets' decision, but it is curious that they found someone willing to pay their price, a price that many thought was too high, and still passed.

There are two other things that we can deduce from this curious decision. First is that the Jets simply had no interest in dealing Johnson to begin with. After all, edge might be the weakest position on the roster, and the Florida State product is the only viable every-down rusher they possess.

The second is that Darren Mougey's vision of a rebuilt Jets' defense includes a heavy investment in pass rushers off the edge. After all, he didn't have any qualms in dealing the team's two best defenders in Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, but as valuable as those two are, they don't bring the same positional value as Johnson.

For now, all we can do is speculate as to why the club held onto Johnson despite their price being met, but what is for sure is that there is more than meets the eye. Mougey's next moves will help shed further light on what his master plan really is.