New York Jets get great value in difficult Jamal Adams trade

The New York Jets got great value in the tough Jamal Adams trade.

It’s not every day a safety brings back multiple first-round picks in a trade, but the New York Jets managed to make the most of a really tough situation between their management and star player Jamal Adams.

Adams is being shipped out of New York all the way to Seattle for a bounty of draft picks, including Seattle’s first-rounders in the next two drafts.

Considering Jamal Adams is just one guy, even as much of an impact as he makes on games, the Jets’ return for him here is pretty unbelievable.

Adams is not yet 25 and he will be a great fit for the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks also don’t really need the first-round picks as much as they need instant impact, and Adams can give that to them, so this is a true win-win of a trade.

For the Jets, however, it’s pretty remarkable.

New York seemingly had no leverage with Adams, who was outspoken about not only his desire for a trade but his desire to be traded to specific NFL cities. The Seattle Seahawks were on that list.

Typically when an NFL player is not available for trade but demands one anyway, the value of a possible return is diminished unless that player is a quarterback.

In the case of Adams, the Jets knew that they had the leverage of contract control for at least the next three years. Adams is on the final year of his 2017 rookie contract, then he has a fifth-year option, then the team could use the franchise tag.

With that being the case, New York wasn’t going to trade a star player without a tremendous return, and even if the Seahawks are picking 32nd overall in each round, this is a fine deal for New York considering how outspoken the player was about wanting to be dealt.

The Jets also have contingencies in place for Adams’ departure.

Jets can usher in new era immediately

The Jets used a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Cal safety Ashtyn Davis, and Jamal Adams’ fellow 2017 draftmate Marcus Maye has developed into one of the better safeties in the league.

As if that weren’t enough, the Seahawks threw in Bradley McDougald, a veteran safety who is probably a lot better than anyone really acknowledges.

McDougald, 29, has five interceptions and four forced fumbles over the last two seasons and allowed just 54.4 percent of passes in his coverage to be completed in 2019.

The Jets are really needing Sam Darnold to take a massive step forward this year and if he does that, the team as a whole should take a step forward. Darnold’s development is crucial to this team keeping up in rebuilding projects with the likes of the Buffalo Bills — who have already been to the playoffs twice in Sean McDermott’s reign — and Miami Dolphins, who have similarly impressive draft capital and a much more impressive ability to reel in free agents.

The Jets need to nail these unknown draft selections but considering where the team is at with Adams and where they are now without him, it’s hard to argue they got tremendous value in this trade.