4 players the NY Jets should've traded for at the deadline

The 2023 NFL trade deadline has come and passed, and the NY Jets opted not to make any deadline deals. The trade market was rather stagnant this year, but that doesn't mean the Jets deserve a pass for their inactivity.

The Jets went into the deadline with a number of roster needs in desperate need of addressing, and, for one reason or another, they failed to address any of those needs.

Of course, it always takes two to tango. It's impossible to sit here after the deadline has passed and say, "The Jets should have traded for [insert player name] without knowing the complex nature of all trade discussions.

Yet, that's exactly what we're going to do anyway. The following four players should have been priorities for the Jets at this year's trade deadline.

4. The NY Jets should've traded for Darnell Mooney

The Jets have a pretty dire need at the wide receiver position at the moment. Outside of Garrett Wilson, the Jets don't have a single other wide receiver who can reliably and consistently make plays for the offense.

Allen Lazard ranks second in the NFL in drop rate and is near the bottom in average separation. Randall Cobb has a strong case for being the worst player in the NFL from a statistical standpoint.

That's where someone like Darnell Mooney could have come into play. Mooney recorded over 1,000 yards just two seasons ago, but he's slowly become an afterthought in the Chicago Bears offense.

At just 26 years old, Mooney could have also been a potential piece for the future. The Bears ultimately decided to hold onto Mooney at the deadline, but it's worth wondering what the Jets might've needed to pay to acquire the soon-to-be free agent.

If a sixth-round pick would have done the trick, the Jets missed out.

3. The NY Jets should've traded for Cordarrelle Patterson

Another player who ultimately wasn't traded at the deadline is Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson. It's not because his role in Atlanta is too significant, however.

Patterson was once the Falcons' lead back, but with younger running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier handling the brunt of backfield duties, he's become an afterthought.

Running back might not appear to be a significant need for the Jets on the surface, but the team's collection of tailbacks behind Breece Hall is not exactly threatening to opposing defenses.

Michael Carter has been used almost exclusively as a third-down back and has just eight carries this season. The less said about Dalvin Cook, who is statistically the worst running back in the NFL this season, the better.

Patterson would give the Jets a significant upgrade over Carter as a third-down back. The former All-Pro return man is a converted wide receiver who hauled in 52 catches for 548 yards and five touchdowns in the air two years ago as the Falcons' primary running back.

He's an electric receiving threat who has proven to be able to handle a sizable workload as a runner. Given his age, contract, and role in Atlanta's offense, it's hard to imagine it would have cost much to acquire him, either.

It might have only taken a swap of late-round picks to make a trade like this happen. Patterson would've instantly been the second-best running back on the roster, giving the team reliable depth in case Hall went down with an injury.

Alas, this is a position the Jets probably didn't care to prioritize. They're higher on their running back room than they probably should be.

2. The NY Jets should've traded for Hunter Renfrow

Remember everything that was said about the wide receiver position on the first slide? All of that applies here as well.

The Jets are desperately missing a reliable receiver who can move the chains and make plays on third down. Lazard is far too inconsistent to be that guy, and outside of Garrett Wilson, there isn't another player on the roster who can fill that role.

Enter Hunter Renfrow. Renfrow has fallen out of favor in Las Vegas despite the fact that he hauled in over 100 catches for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns just two seasons ago.

Renfrow was a first-down machine during his Pro Bowl 2021 season, racking up a whopping 52 first-downs across 17 games. That's a rate of over three first downs per game.

The former Clemson standout also finished with a drop rate of just 2.6 percent, which ranked sixth among wide receivers with at least 90 targets. For context, Allen Lazard's drop rate this season is nearly 20 percent. Randall Cobb's drop rate sits at an atrocious 40 percent.

Renfrow is exactly the type of player the Jets need in this offense right now. Some will point to his contract being an issue, but none of his 2024 salary would be guaranteed for a team trading for him. There would be little to no risk.

It's hard to imagine the Raiders were asking for much, given that he's caught just 10 passes this season. Renfrow is someone the Jets should have prioritized as a top target.

For whatever reason, however, it just wasn't meant to be. The Jets' wide receiver room is in serious trouble if anything happens to Garrett Wilson.

1. The NY Jets should've traded for Ezra Cleveland

Ezra Cleveland is the only player on this list who was actually traded prior to the deadline, which makes him easily the biggest miss for Joe Douglas. There's no way around it — the Jets missed out.

At just 25 years old, Cleveland is (at worst) an average starting left guard. His 73.8 Pro Football Focus grade this season ranks eighth among all qualified offensive guards — the second season in a row he's on pace to finish as a top-eight guard, per PFF.

He's allowed just one sack this season on 372 offensive snaps and looked to be a long-term starting piece for the Minnesota Vikings. That's what made it so shocking that the Vikings decided to send Cleveland to Jacksonville in exchange for the measly price of a sixth-round pick.

Yes, Cleveland's contract is set to expire in the offseason. Yes, he's battled through some injuries this season. But it's hard to make sense of this move for Minnesota.

As for the Jets, they could have traded for a player who would have instantly been their best healthy offensive lineman for a sixth-round pick. Cleveland could have instantly started at right guard, and it's likely he could've stuck around past this season as well.

Whether the plan was to keep Alijah Vera-Tucker at guard or move on from Laken Tomlinson, Cleveland could have easily had a role on the offense in 2024. But the Jets didn't bite.

Instead, they signed potentially washed-up veteran guard Rodger Saffold to their practice squad moments before the deadline passed. That's it. That was their big offensive line move.

Given how few healthy bodies the Jets have on their interior offensive line at the moment, one would think the front office would've been aggressive to land a young, average/above-average starting guard for a late Day 3 draft pick. Nope. That clearly wasn't their plan.

The Jets missed out on a great value trade for a young player at a position of need. This one's a miss for Joe Douglas.