If we’re drafting players from the opposing team, there’s no way that big No. 95 should be skipped
The Buffalo Bills are heading to the playoffs, and based on the results of this week’s matchup against the New York Jets, we’ll know whether they’ve locked in as the No. 2 seed or if they have to win next week against the New England Patriots to avoid falling to the No. 3 seed in the AFC. The Jets, on the other hand, are once again looking at a reload, at best, and another rebuild at worst.
It wasn’t long ago that the Bills were in the Jets’ position, sitting in the midst of a decade-plus streak without making the playoffs. The Bills went from my age-14 year on Earth to my age-31 year on Earth without making a playoff appearance, so I can appreciate the pain of Jets fans who have gone the last 14 seasons without the playoffs. Hell, the Jets haven’t even finished a season with a positive point differential since 2015.
For as bad as the Jets have been this season, they still have quite a few talented pieces on their roster. There are some players on both sides of the ball who could absolutely help this year’s iteration of the Buffalo Bills in their quest for a Lombardi Trophy.
Here are the three Jets—salary cap notwithstanding—that we would take on our squad right now.
WR Garrett Wilson
Imagine pairing Wilson with Khalil Shakir through next season while both players are on rookie deals. Wilson is an incredible talent, and he’s been a bright spot in a mostly dysfunctional offense throughout his time in New Jersey. This season, he leads the Jets in targets (141), receptions (90), receiving yards (987), and receiving touchdowns (6). One question I would have is whether he’d be satisfied living as a part of a receiver group that doesn’t feature one player over another, but I think that Buffalo does something far more often than the Jets that would soften the blow of not having eye-popping numbers each week, and that’s win. Wilson will almost certainly have his third-straight 1,000-yard season, and he’ll likely achieve it by the end of the first quarter this week. That’s a remarkable feat given the uncertainty of the Jets quarterback situation throughout his career. Pairing him with a legitimate superstar in Josh Allen would be terrifying for opposing defenses.
DT Quinnen Williams
Imagine pairing Williams with Ed Oliver or DaQuan Jones. Williams was the No. 3 overall pick in the same draft where the Bills nabbed Oliver, and this is one area where the Jets definitely ended up with the better end of the bargain over the last few years. Williams has been a consistently elite player in his time wearing green, and even while he’s having a “down year” this season, he’s still managed to rack up 35 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 17 quarterback hits, and 6 sacks. Every one of those totals would put him first among Bills’ defensive tackles, and it would put him second among all Buffalo defensive linemen save Greg Rousseau in every category, as well. Williams and Oliver would be a lethal combination on the defensive interior. Throw in Rousseau and Von Miller on the edge and the Bills would have a dynamic front four heading into the postseason.
CB Sauce Gardner
I know, I know…Gardner is having a down year this season. We’ve all heard it, we’ve all read it, and perhaps we’ve all seen it and laughed given our mutual loathing for the Jets and the schadenfreude that comes with seeing our enemies fail. I’m going to give you some blind numbers, though, and let you make the call. Here are three corners and their pass coverage stats per Pro Football Reference:
Corner A: 36/55 (65.5%), 307 yards, 4 TD, 96.6 passer rating, 1 INT, 9 PD
Corner B: 31/54 (57.4%), 509 yards, 1 TD, 87.7 passer rating, 1 INT, 8 PD
Corner C: 39/55 (70.9%), 486 yards, 4 TD, 122.2 passer rating, 0 INT, 5 PD
The first player listed is Christian Benford, who is having a universally acclaimed season. The third player listed is Rasul Douglas, who’s missed the last two games thanks to a knee injury and has shown himself to be a liability in man coverage time and again. The middle player is Gardner. I’d argue that the reason so many are writing that Gardner is having a poor year is less because of reality and more because of the expectations of excellence he’s set for himself throughout his career thus far. Imagine lining Gardner up across from Benford? It would immediately catapult Buffalo’s secondary to greater heights. One area where Gardner is definitely poor—and where he’d need to improve in order to help Buffalo’s defense—is in playing the run. He’s missed eight tackles this season, which is 14.8% of the tackles he’s attempted. I would trust Buffalo’s staff to coach him up to speed. Gardner is an elite corner, and you can’t have too many of those on your team.