Ian Rapoport Sheds Light On Trade Interest In Jets’ No. 2 Pick

The Jets have one of the most coveted assets in all of football, but teams reportedly aren’t blowing up New York’s phone lines to see how they might be able to acquire it.

We’ve already seen one shake-up to the top five of the 2021 NFL Draft, and we could be in store for another. The Miami Dolphins dealt the No. 3 overall selection to the San Francisco 49ers, and the Atlanta Falcons reportedly are open to moving the fourth overall pick.

Don’t count on the Jets — who own the No. 2 pick — joining the party, however. Ian Rapoport on Wednesday reported there’s been minimal trade interest for that selection, as teams across the league are fairly confident about how New York will utilize it.

“…I assumed if the San Francisco 49ers were going to trade up to No. 3, then they had to call about No. 2, make a big offer. OK, they couldn’t get there, settled on three. It didn’t work out like that,” Rapoport said on NFL Network’s “NFL Now.” “Sounds like the 49ers didn’t even make an offer about coming up to two for the Jets. They’ve gotten very few phone calls, no offers — just very little conversation about that spot.

“Still, there are some teams — not just the 49ers — who need quarterbacks within striking distance. The Carolina Panthers were one of them and potentially still could be even with yesterday’s trade. It seems to be that what everyone thinks is the Jets are going to take Zach Wilson. So much so, everyone is so sure that they haven’t even bothered to call. Would a trade offer change the Jets’ mind? Hard to imagine, but it’s fascinating to me that no one’s even called and said, ‘All right, what would it take to trade up to two?’ It sounds like they’re sticking anyway.”

The Jets likely would need to receive a Godfather offer to even consider trading the No. 2 pick. Dealing Sam Darnold to Carolina left New York with a starting quarterback vacancy, which is expected to be filled by Wilson. If Darnold still were in the fold in the Meadowlands, perhaps the Jets would be more amenable to listening to offers.

So while it never hurts to ask, any conversation with the Jets about their top pick probably would be a brief one.