Jets have NFL’s longest playoff drought, which just got longer but might be worth it

The strongest team in NFL has a 1-7 record and has not made the playoffs in 14 years, not only the league's longest drought, but also the longest active postseason drought in any of the four major American professional sports.

That's right, after deal deadline destruction of epic and historical proportions, New York Jets have a chance to control the future of the next two NFL offseasons.

First-year general manager Darren Moogey made seismic moves Tuesday. trade defender Gardner sauce To Colts and defender Quinnen Williams To Cowboys. The Jets received two first-round picks and a wide receiver. Ada Mitchell from Indianapolis, as well as first- and second-round picks and defensive lineman Know Smith – From Dallas.

Gardner, 25, is one of three players to be named first-team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons in the NFL. The Jets rightfully considered him a cornerstone of the franchise just four months ago when they made him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player with contract extension for four years worth $120.4 million.

Williams, 27, who has been named to each of the last three Pro Bowls, also appears to be part of the formula. His contract runs until 2027.

The Jets had to get the right amount of value for these players, and they did. For the first time this millennium, a team made multiple trades during the season for a first-round pick. New York now has two candidates in the 2026 first round, two candidates in the 2026 runoff and three candidates in the 2027 first round.

There's already a lot of talk about what New York could do with this catch. The defender topped the list after Justin Fields became the latest in a series of experiments that were unsuccessful.

Rebuilding a defense that was near the bottom of the league before these trades and also struggled last year will also be a top priority. The same will be said about filling skill position players outside of Garrett Wilsonwho the Jets were reportedly determined not to trade.

This may be the biggest advantage though. The Jets are a clean slate. They don't have to resolve a particular position. If they're not happy with what's available to them at quarterback in the 2026 draft – where they could choose first – they don't have to use one. They can be built in trenches, or in the secondary, or in a wide receiver, or… anywhere. They could bring in a bridge quarterback and refocus on 2027.

And my God, what a loaded class of 2027 This. There are enough names here to interest even the most curmudgeonly—and they have plenty of reasons to be curmudgeonly—Jets fans. Wide Receivers Jeremiah Smith (Ohio) and Ryan Williams (Alabama). Edge rushers Dylan Stewart (South Carolina) and Colin Simmons (Texas). Maybe the Texas quarterback will suddenly be reborn Arch Manninggets there too.

Again, the excitement shouldn't be about who exactly the Jets draft, but rather the simple fact that they'll have ample opportunity to choose their direction here. The world is their oyster. Adding to their strength, it's important to note that the 2027 first-round draft pick acquired from Dallas is better the Cowboys' own 2027 pick and the one they acquired from Packers V Micah Parsons deal with.

There is a real chance this will be a pick in the first half of the first round. This is a seemingly insignificant detail that can have a significant impact. This is an NBA-style deal, where the “first-round pick” designation requires much more detail.

Back to the curmudgeonly Jets fan, they might point out that this has happened before. In fact, the Jets are the last team to make five picks in two years, all in the 2021-22 season.

This segment is considered a failure because they missed Zach Wilsonbut they also attacked Gardner, Wilson and potentially more Jermaine Johnson II.

“The Jets are doomed to repeat the same mistakes forever and ever until the end of time,” says our hypothetical Jets fan.

This is wrong. The Jets of today and tomorrow are not doomed to make the mistakes of yesterday's Jets simply because of the name on the front of the jersey. If this were true, no bad team would ever get better.

Moogee deserves some leash, the benefit of the doubt and maybe even some credit – I know it's hard to see, Jets fans – for his savvy. If the Jets keep their five first-round picks (again, a big if considering how many routes they could have taken), it will be the 13th time since the merger that a team has made five first-round picks in two years. Dolphins, Raiders And Browns also did so in the last decade, and all three reached the postseason shortly thereafter. Cleveland even ended a playoff drought longer than the Jets' current one.

The template would be the 1991-92 Cowboys, who added foundational pieces to their 1990s dynasty with first-round picks Russell Maryland, Alvin Harper, Kevin Smith and Robert Jones, and second-round pick Darren Woodson.

In all likelihood, the Jets will end up somewhere in the middle. There will be hits and there will be misses. Where are they can't Miss is a protector. The quote “With great power comes great responsibility” applies here. Moogey, coach Aaron Glenn and the rest of the Jets have tremendous power. They also have a great responsibility to get things right.

At least they're giving themselves a legitimate chance. The Jets asking for more patience when they already own the longest active playoff drought in the NFL is difficult but necessary. Days of trying to get Fields to work or join Aaron Rodgersevery wish—the eager one-foot-first-one-foot-first movement that put the Jets in this position in the first place—or the hope of Sam Darnold or Wilson becoming the savior of a franchise in desperate circumstances are over.

The board has been wiped clean. There are no excuses and there is no looking back. Such transactions also do not occur without the owner’s permission; That Woody Johnson seems to agree and take a patient approach is also extremely important.

New York can transform its organization. He can draft a well-rounded quarterback. And provide a viable ecosystem around you. He can add to a defense that is in dire need of talent across the board. Veterans can come to the rescue: New York is projected to have the third-highest salary cap this offseason. None of these things were possible before Tuesday's deadline deal.

Demolition is almost complete. Recovery can begin in earnest. The Jets' playoff drought will continue this year. It may not end next year or the year after.

But the Jets are finally doing the right thing, finally trying to build a team from the ground up rather than plug a hole here or there. For an impatient franchise and fans, patience isn't easy. But maybe it's worth it.