NY Jets could be eyeing trade-up for superstar player in Round 1

With the 2025 NFL Draft approaching quickly, most pundits and fans have discussed a specific set of players that the New York Jets will likely select with the seventh pick in Round 1.

The betting odds favor Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou as the Jets' selection at No. 7 overall, with Penn State tight end Tyler Warren as the next most likely pick. Tight end and offensive tackle are pressing needs for the Jets, and Warren and Membou are the perfect marriage of need, matching the value board.

However, because new general manager Darren Mougey and his staff employed a low-risk short-term strategy in free agency, the Jets have more than just two specific needs heading into a draft that, in theory, is designed to produce long-term answers.

That's precisely why team followers have suggested trading down to accumulate more players in the draft's early rounds. The Jets have the standard allotment of selections in the first four rounds, a pick in each, three of the top 73.

According to sources, one strategy discussed in Jets circles would go against the grain of accumulating draft assets — trading up to secure one of the select few difference makers in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Will the NY Jets trade up in the 2025 NFL Draft?

There are three players atop the Jets' draft board that fall into this category: Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty, and the No. 1 player on their list, Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.

For the Jets to select one of these elite prospects, they must give up significant assets to jump from the seventh slot to either the second or third pick, currently belonging to the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, respectively. The two downtrodden teams have reportedly been fielding offers for their selections.

Although the Jets' scouting department highly regards Carter and Jeanty, they don't fill pressing needs. In recent weeks, there's been great debate as to whether the Jets would select Jeanty, if he were to fall to seven, despite having a deep backfield led by Breece Hall, who is entering the final year of his contract.

But that dilemma seems increasingly unlikely with several teams jockeying for the superstar running back. Jeanty can go as high as No. 2 if a team wants to jump the Jaguars, Raiders, and others.

The Jets are not exactly devoid of having difference-making players on their roster. Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson are two of them, but the team doesn't have enough players of that ilk to turn the corner and become a contender.

Travis Hunter is the one impactful player in this draft that kills all birds with a single stone, filling two needs as the rarest of unicorns in football. The Jets can fill two premium positions by boldly trading up for Hunter, but are they willing to take that enormous risk?

Because to do that, head coach Aaron Glenn and his staff would have to boldly go where very few, if any, NFL teams have gone before, and that's risking playing Hunter on both sides of the ball. Something that even Hunter's legendary head coach, Deion Sanders, did in a limited capacity decades ago.

The only reason to trade up for Hunter is if the Jets see him as a difference-maker on defense and offense. The Jets can stand pat or trade down and pick up a bunch of hopeful, longtime NFL regulars. Or they can make the move for a difference-making player that stands out above the rest.

A trade-up by a Jets team that has never picked seventh in the first round in its history would certainly stand out as one of the most daring moves by an NFL franchise ever. Fortune hasn't favored the Jets, but it might if they take the boldest risk.

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