New York Jets: Fawning over Fowler
Over the past year, the Jets have now lost out on two player grabs, Kirk Cousins and Khalil Mack. The former a free agent, the ladder via trade, the Jets aggressively pursued each, seems to come in second place both times. As a fan, it's important to remember one thing, a GM may take a swing and miss, but whats important is that he keeps swinging for the fences. The Jets are now in their next major pursuit, the acquisition of Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler jr.. Fowler, a former Florida Gator, was the third overall selection of the 2015 draft. Fowler put up 4 sacks in the 2016 season and followed it up with an 8 sack season, combined with 2 forced fumbles, in 2017. His past is not without its blemishes, as injuries kept him off the field for his rookie season in 2015, and off the field, issues have reared their ugly head as well.
The Jaguars are growing tired of Fowler's off-field antics and are watching him struggle to flourish in the new 4-3 system for over a year now. Fowler has technically only started 1 game with the Jaguars over the course of his career but has been heavily used in rotation. The Jaguars may be willing to part with Fowler in order to get some sort of return for him rather than get nothing when his contract is up and he hits free agency in 2019. Per my sources, the timing of the trade of Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the Saints was no coincidence. The Jets see the potential for Fowler to be the only missing piece left in Coach Todd Bowles' defense. The Jets front office has been preparing for Khalil Mack to end up on a different team in 2018 all along. The Jets did pursue Mack aggressively, but per Manish Mehta, they never offered two first-round picks as the overall cost would be too great for Jets GM Mike Maccagnan's taste.
While the Mack trade does increase Fowler's value to some extent, it appears the market has not warmed, or cooled, since the trade was announced just hours ago on September 1st. This does not mean it won't heat up, but per sources, it appears it may actually be that a trade has already been discussed between the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars of which the details are just being refined. There is speculation of possibly a 2018 third round pick coupled with a 2018 fifth rounder for Fowler. A mutually beneficial trade for both teams. However, anything can happen in the NFL. As the saying goes, nothing is official until its scrolling across the bottom of the screen on ESPN.