Should the New York Jets be willing to trade up in the 2024 NFL draft?

There are some enticing targets for the Jets if they wish to trade up in the draft

One of the things that I like about mock drafts is that they offer a chance to consider a different strategy or idea. For that to happen, someone has to propose something that’s a bit “out there”, which is a bit rare when NFL draft coverage is so prone to groupthink. One example of an “out there” mock for the New York Jets showed up last week when Daniel Jeremiah’s mock draft had the Jets trading up from pick 10 to pick 5 in order to select Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

More specifically, Jeremiah had the New York Jets sending a second round pick from the 2025 draft and the 10th overall pick in this draft to move up to the 5th overall pick in this draft with Jeremiah writing:

I know there are Bolts fans who want to see them pick a receiver early in Round 1, but they can get a first-round-caliber wideout in the second round this year — and they’d also pick up a second-round pick in next year’s draft by making this projected trade with the Jets. Getting extra picks is going to be part of the building plan here, allowing Los Angeles to add starters via the draft at an affordable price after paying Herbert big bucks.

Now in this case, the Jets traded up for Harrison. With that said, I don’t really want this to be a Marvin Harrison article. Instead, I just want to ask a simple question: “from a philosophical perspective, is there any circumstance where you think the Jets should be trading up in this draft (sans a lobsided trade offer)?”

Basically, I want to know if you think the Jets are in a position to leverage future resources to try to maximize the 2024 roster.

For me, I think the answer is yes. The team hinges on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will not be getting any younger. Beyond that, every year that goes on is one fewer where the Jets have players such as running back Breece Hall, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, or cornerback Sauce Gardner on their cost-effective rookie deals.

Basically, every year that goes by will likely just see a weaker version of the current roster until they enter into their next rebuild or retool era. With that in mind, I can see the logic for trading up if the right opportunity arose wherein a player the Jets coveted a great deal could be had for fair draft compensation.

Whether that player is Marvin Harrison is another question, but it’s one that I previously would not have pondered without Jeremiah’s rather unconventional decision in his most recent mock. For that, I thank Jeremiah for his “out of the box” idea.

But what do you think? Should the Jets consider a trade up?