NY Jets connected to former Aaron Rodgers WR in nonsensical mock trade

The NY Jets made the mistake of relying on too many of Aaron Rodgers' "friends" in his first season with the team in 2023, but for the most part, the team sought to correct those mistakes this offseason.

The Jets have passed on multiple opportunities to add more of Rodgers' so-called buddies this offseason, most notably at the wide receiver position. Instead of targeting players like Odell Beckham Jr. and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the Jets signed Mike Williams and drafted Malachi Corley.

Those moves were calculated and likely the correct decisions, but one analyst still believes the Jets should make an effort to target the aforementioned Valdes-Scantling. This is, of course, despite the former Green Bay Packers wideout signing with the Buffalo Bills last month.

Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox recently proposed seven hypothetical trades to reunite quarterback/wide receiver duos, and one of the proposed trades saw the Bills send Valdes-Scantling to the Jets.

The NY Jets should stay far away from Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Even ignoring the unlikelihood that the Jets and Bills would engage in a cross-division swap, this trade makes no sense for the Jets for a variety of reasons. The most important: Valdes-Scantling isn't very good.

The former Chiefs wide receiver is coming off a dismal season in which he finished with just 21 catches for 315 yards despite playing a whopping 58 percent of offensive snaps with Patrick Mahomes throwing him passes.

It goes beyond simple box score numbers too. ESPN Analytics has an overall receiver rating that factors in open score, catch rating, and YAC rating. Valdes-Scantling ranked 149th out of just 153 qualified wide receivers in 2023.

The only wide receivers to receive a worse rating were Allen Lazard (dead last), Jonathan Mingo, Van Jefferson, and the now-retired DeVante Parker. That's some putrid company. Of the 93 wide receivers to be targeted at least 40 times, Valdes-Scantling's 50.4 Pro Football Focus grade ranked 92nd.

Valdes-Scantling is a deep ball receiver who struggled to separate, had issues with drops, and wasn't able to create yards after the catch. That's not someone who should have a role in the Jets' offense.

Sure, it's easy to point to the last two former Rodgers receivers the Jets signed, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, and use the same logic to explain why Valdes-Scantling shouldn't be a target, but it goes well beyond that.

Valdes-Scantling isn't a poor option for the Jets because he played with Rodgers. He's a poor option because he's a very bad wide receiver, or at least he was in 2023.

The Jets made the wise decision to pass on Valdes-Scantling when they had the chance to sign him in free agency. Under no circumstances should the team consider trading for him.