Woody Johnson reportedly traded down in NFL Draft 2024 in hopes of landing a Brock Purdy
The Athletic came out with a damning report of the state of the New York Jets, and at the center of the article is team owner Woody Johnson. He is also the heir of the pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson. The article laid the majority of the blame of the Jets being the team with the longest active playoff drought across the four major North American sports on Johnson's involvement.
According to the report, many of his decisions have not made sense. During the offseason following the 2023 regular season, the Jets decided to trade rookie QB Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos. Johnson traded the team's 256th pick with the team along with Wilson.
Johnson did this in the hopes the Jets would get to select "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2024 NFL draft, and like the 2023 draft, that pick may turn out to be a major contributor like San Francisco 49ers star QB Brock Purdy.
"Can you believe that?" a source revealed to "The Athletic". "He thought he needed the Mr. Irrelevant pick to get a Brock Purdy. I don’t think that’s ever happened in the history of the NFL: A team wanted a worse pick."
The team picked safety Jayle Key who didn't even make it to the practice squad. The Broncos, on the other hand, drafted Nick Gargiulo, who is currently on the team's 53-man roster.
Woody Johnson's sons reportedly weighed in on team matters
Anonymous sources cited in the article said Johnson would often consider the opinions of his teenage sons, Brick and Jack, and give them the same weight and value as if they were coming from his executives.
“When we’re discussing things, you’ll hear Woody cite something that Brick or Jack read online that’s being weighed equally against whatever opinion someone else in the department has,” said one Jets executive.
The article also reported Johnson vetoing a trade for Jerry Jeudy because of his Madden rating, as an influence on his two teenage sons. Apparently, Johnson did not want to sign Jeudy because his rating on the wildly popular football video game was too low. Jeudy went to the Cleveland Browns instead and is having a career season.