The Jets have not subscribed to the belief that honesty is the best policy.
From their party line that Mark Sanchez has shown the ability to be a good quarterback to their insistence that there was enough talent on the roster to compete last season to the entire shifting rationale for the Tim Tebow trade, the Jets constantly run in the other direction when honesty is one of the options available to them. There's no better time for that to change than right now.
Peter King of Sports Illustrated reports that the Buccaneers would likely be willing to deal their first- and second-round picks in the 2014 draft for the chance to add Darrelle Revis to their team. King reports the Jets are pushing for this year's first-round pick, but Brian Costello of the Post reports that Jets general manager is not being clear with the Bucs about what the team wants.
If that first offer is on the table, the Jets should take it and never look back. Getting a first- and second-round pick for a player coming off a torn ACL would be a boon in any year, but especially in a 2014 draft that's shaping up to have a lot more talent than this year's draft.
The Jets are a contender for the first overall pick, which could mean South Carolina's terrifyingly good defensive juggernaut Jadeveon Clowney or a franchise quarterback joining the team. Beyond that, the Jets also stand to clean up on compensatory picks after watching every free agent on their team sign elsewhere this offseason, which will give them a bounty to use to fill the many holes on their roster while also being in better cap shape overall.
There's also the matter of the fact that the Jets haven't decided whether or not Rex Ryan will be the coach past this season, a decision that would seem to make it even more appealing to push big draft moves into 2014 when they'll know who their coach will be for the long haul.
It's a better return in a better draft at a better time for the franchise, with the only stumbling block being the Jets' unwillingness to approach the season for what it is.
It's delayed gratification, but why should that matter to a team that is going nowhere fast this season whether they have one, two or three first-round selections? The Jets took their shot during Ryan's first three seasons and it fell short, which means now is the time to start rebuilding for another bite at the apple in the years to come.
It would be nice to see the Jets act like they understand the reality of the situation rather than continuing to behave like 2013 is something other than a year to wash out the bad and, hopefully, find a little good to build on. Since this is a team that still tries to get people to believe that there's a solution to the Revis saga that doesn't involve trading him, let's just say we're not optimistic about that coming to pass.
Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.
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