4 No. 1 wide receivers the Jets could trade for this offseason
Zach Wilson needs more weapons to work with if the Jets want him to take the next step in 2022.
The cupboard is not bare in New York. Corey Davis might not be a true No. 1 wide receiver, but he has the talent to form a strong duo with Elijah Moore, who impressed as a rookie. Braxton Berrios could also be back with the Jets next season, which would further strengthen the depth chart.
Berrios, Davis and Moore don’t provide the elite, established option Wilson needs to help further his progression, though. The Jets don’t have to look far to see what having a star wide receiver can do for a young quarterback. The Bills gave Josh Allen an All-Pro in Stefon Diggs and Allen became one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in the blink of an eye.
There’s no guarantee Wilson takes a similar leap, but a No. 1 wideout sure would help his chances.
No. 1 wide receivers are not abundant in this year’s free agent market. They are, however, attainable via trade at the right price. Here are four Joe Douglas could potentially bring to the Big Apple.
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Ridley’s 2021 season with the Falcons came to an abrupt end when he decided to step away from football to address his mental health in October. Ridley is seemingly set to return in 2022, but there’s no guarantee he ever plays in Atlanta again. There are questions about Ridley’s No. 1 wide receiver ability — he caught just 31 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns in five games atop the depth chart — but it might be worth the Jets’ while to find out. He’s still 27 years old and has plenty of good football left in him. New York might be the place where he puts it together.
Michael Thomas
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Thomas missed all of 2021 with an ankle injury and has had issues with Saints brass over the last couple of years. Would the Jets want to trade for a wide receiver coming off an injury that kept him out an entire year and who is turning 29 in March? Thomas was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year just three years ago and is the kind of possession receiver Wilson can trust to make plays. This might be a situation worth exploring for New York.
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Cooper caught 68 passes for 885 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games with the Cowboys in 2021 and had 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020. It might not seem like Dallas would want to move on from a player who has been as productive as Cooper, but it has to maneuver its salary cap in order to free up the money needed to keep other key pieces with the team. That renders Cooper expendable — to the point where the Jets might be best served seeing if he gets cut. Douglas could take the bull by the horns and get on the phone with Jerry Jones if he really wants Cooper, though.
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Metcalf is the most unlikely target on this list, as the only way he gets traded is if the Seahawks decide to completely blow things up and rebuild, which doesn’t seem likely. Even if that happens, Metcalf could be retained as a valuable building block. The Jets would be wise to at least see where Seattle is at in regards to moving Metcalf. He’d be the kind of dominant outside presence New York has not had in a long time. Could Douglas reunite with a familiar trading partner to make this move happen? Probably not, but crazier things have happened in the offseason before.
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