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Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson reacting during a halftime event.

The New York Jets are at a pivotal point in their history. There is a fork in the road. One path leads to prominence and turning this God-forsaken franchise around. The other leads to misery and pain, much like the last 15 years amid this historic playoff drought.

Before the Jets choose their destiny this week, former Dallas Cowboys legend Jimmy Johnson imparted some wisdom on the green and white.

“If they use the picks wisely this could give them a foundation for years to come,” Johnson told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “The key is not getting the picks. The key is picking the right players.”

The Jets have four picks inside the top-44 of April’s draft. No team in the league has more assets than that.

However, Johnson warned the Jets that there is an inherent “danger” in having that many assets at your disposal.

Johnson said a team in that position could develop a “cavalier approach,” which could lead to “reaching to address a need.”

“[You must] look at each individual pick as if it’s the last pick you have. That’ll keep you from wasting it,” Johnson told Cimini.

“It’s like the old saying: Money coming from gambling easily disappears,” Johnson added via Cimini. “Money from hard work continually grows. So you can’t be risky with those picks just because you’ve got extra.”

Sound Advice From a Legend

In other words, the Jets haven’t made it yet. Just because they have a ton of assets doesn’t mean they will use them properly.

This will be the 10th time in franchise history that the Jets will use multiple first-round picks in the same draft class. It’s safe to say this isn’t their first rodeo. It is also fair to say they have screwed up being in this position before.

Trading away proven commodities immediately made you a worse football team. Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner were both former first-team All-Pros. That is as good as it gets.

However, the brutally honest conversation is that you lost with them, you can lose without them. Sacrificing those star players provided the Jets with an opportunity to dig themselves out of this hole. Again, it isn’t a guarantee, simply an opportunity.

The Jets pulled the trigger, and that was the right decision. This league is very simple: there are the haves and the have-nots at quarterback. If you have one, you will win many games and have a chance to compete for a title every year. If you don’t have one, you’re mired in medicority.

The Jets know they didn’t have one, so these picks in 2026 and 2027 give them a chance to go and find one.

Can Darren Mougey Multiply These Assets?

Five first-round picks and three second-round picks over two years is pretty good, but can they do better?

Every year, desperate teams feel the pressure and will give up assets in pressure-packed moments. The smart general managers will take advantage of those teams.

The Jets are dancing a fine line of competing now and also thinking about the future. They have plenty of roster holes coming off a 3-14 campaign. So they need to add talent now, but if any offers come across Darren Mougey’s desk that include 2027 assets, they will have to stop and think long and hard about it.

The most first-round picks a team has ever had in one single draft is four. The Jets did that back in the 2000 NFL draft. In 2027, the Jets have three first-round picks, right on the doorstep of history. Could history repeat itself?

Trader Darren Mougey is on the prowl.