When the blockbuster Quenton Nelson trade was executed just a few days ago, I bet one of the last NFL teams that came to your mind was the New York Jets. I mean, the Seattle Seahawks acquired Nelson, a future Hall of Famer who remains one of the best interior offensive linemen in the sport, bolstering their odds of repeating as Super Bowl champions, while the Indianapolis Colts began what should be a full-blown fire sale. What do those things have to do with the Jets?
Well, believe it or not, the Jets might be the biggest winners and losers of this trade. At the very least, they're caught in the middle of it in a couple of different ways.
Jets might've secured a top five draft pick thanks to Quenton Nelson trade
It's always fun when you win a trade without even doing anything. The Jets were not involved in this trade, yet it clearly benefits them because New York has the Colts' first-round draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft in its possession. That's right, not only did the Jets acquire the first-round pick that wound up being No. 16 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft and Adonai Mitchell, but the Jets also acquired a 2027 first-round pick from the Colts.
At the time, it felt like that first-rounder wouldn't be super valuable given how well the Colts were playing, but nothing has gone right since in Indianapolis, leading to the Nelson trade. Now, the Colts are 2-5 despite playing in one of the weakest divisions in the sport, and have already traded Nelson and DeForest Buckner. And nothing suggests they're going to stop there, either.
Josh Downs has already requested a trade, and there's a good chance the Colts will deal away the likes of Jonathan Taylor, Grover Stewart and Keenan Allen, among others. They're going to do their best to trade as many veteran players who aren't part of their long-term plans for as much draft capital as they can get, but no matter what they do, they won't be able to get their own first-rounder back. It makes sense for the Colts to tank, but doing so gives the Jets a golden opportunity to earn a top pick in the draft without even doing anything.
Jets have no choice but do ponder "what if's" with Quenton Nelson protecting Sam Darnold in Seattle
The Jets being a team that benefits because they own the Colts' first-round pick is pretty obvious, but there's also a frustrating aspect of this trade: they have to watch Quenton Nelson protect Sam Darnold in Seattle on a team vying for its second straight Super Bowl ring. It's easy to forget that these two players were traded for each other back in the day.
With the Jets searching for their franchise quarterback, the team traded up with the Colts to the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, earning the right to draft Darnold and plug him in under center. In doing that, the Jets passed on Nelson, who fell right into the Colts' laps at No. 6 overall. The Jets could've had Nelson, but instead elected to draft Darnold, who was traded to the Panthers a couple of years later and won a Super Bowl in Seattle soon after.
Now, the Jets are still looking for their next franchise quarterback, while Darnold, who has flourished away from New York, is going to be protected by a future Hall of Famer whom the Jets could've drafted if they hadn't whiffed on Darnold. That's quite the weird spot for Jets fans.
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