NY Jets trade for guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif in an absolute steal

Joe Douglas has done it again. The NY Jets have reportedly traded for former Kansas City Chiefs standout offensive guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif in exchange for backup tight end and special-teamer Daniel Brown, as first reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

A sixth-round pick of the Chiefs in the 2014 NFL Draft, Duvernay-Tardif took over as his team's starting guard the following season, and he quickly developed into a quality starting guard.

From 2015 to 2017, Duvernay-Tardif ranked in the top-half of guards in the NFL by Pro Football Focus with his best season coming in 2017 when his 71.5 PFF grade was good for 20th at his position.

The Jets were looking for offensive line depth and they got some in Duvernay-Tardif who could immediately compete for the starting right guard job.

The NY Jets made a high-upside trade for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Duvernay-Tardif hasn't played since 2019 after he became the first player to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. A registered doctor in his own right, Duvernay-Tardif spent the entire year in a long-term care facility outside of his hometown in Montreal.

The 30-year-old returned in 2021 looking to reclaim his starting job. However, it was rookie standout Trey Smith who claimed the job in the summer and never looked back.

Duvernay-Tardif was inactive in every game this year (partially due to a hand injury) until this past week, although he didn't play. He hasn't played in an NFL game since Super Bowl LIV in February of 2020.

Still, it's hard to look at this trade as anything other than a steal for the Jets.

Duvernay-Tardif has had injury troubles in the past and obviously hasn't played in two years. But he was a quality starting guard with the Chiefs and, if he resembles anything close to his pre-2019 form, the Jets should have their new starting right guard.

As for Brown, the 29-year-old has been with the Jets since 2019 serving as a core special-teamer. However, he doesn't contribute much on offense and was likely one of the least valuable players on the roster.

The fact that the Jets got anything for him, let alone a former starting guard, is quite frankly a miracle.

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif could compete with Greg Van Roten for the starting right guard role or simply serve as much-needed offensive line depth.

Either way, he's more valuable to the Jets than Daniel Brown.