For Progress’ Sake, Jets Must Trade Crowder By Tuesday’s Deadline
Elijah Moore was one of the top slot receivers in the country as a junior at Ole Miss last season. The Jets were said to have Moore rated as a mid-first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and were absolutely ecstatic when he slipped to them a round later (34th overall).
In the summer OTAs and early portions of training camp, Moore reportedly wowed Gang Green’s coaching staff with his contested catches and breakaway speed. The Jets hadn’t had a potential weapon like that since the days of Santana Moss nearly 20 years ago.
Of course, Moore needed to show those same moves when the games started for real. That he hasn’t (9 receptions, just 3 for first downs--but with a couple of long pass interference penalties drawn--for 79 yards with a 19-yard garbage time touchdown run last week in New England but no receiving touchdowns) to date isn’t all that concerning for a rookie. Antonio Brown, one of the greatest slot receivers of all time, registered 16 receptions for 167 yards in his first 9 games as a Steeler in 2010.
The problem, as it usually is with this franchise, is that the Jets coaching staff hasn’t done their best to set Moore up for success. Moore has been mostly playing out of position on the outside, where he lined up on just 147 of 1,746 snaps (8.4%) in three collegiate seasons, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
Under offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s dysfunctional 49ers-styled system, the Jets, at least until they’re getting blown out, are just as likely to trot out a personnel package that features multiple tight ends, where a slot guy isn’t required, as opposed to one with three-or-four receivers spread out on the field. The only way to maximize Moore’s snap count, then, is to have him learn the ropes on the outside, even though his 5-foot 10 frame becomes more of a disadvantage there. PFF’s Draft Guide noted that Moore faced press coverage on just 38 snaps all last season.
In his last three games (he missed Week 4 with a concussion suffered running his first jet sweep in Denver), Moore has lined up wide on 66 of his 86 offensive snaps, per PFF, yet about 45% of his catches and yards this season have come when he ran patterns out of the slot.
A better reason than LaFleur’s idiotic schemes for keeping Moore out of the slot has been the Week 4 return of No. 1 slot receiver Jamison Crowder from a groin injury. NFL coaches are paid to win and Crowder has been graded by PFF as one of the league’s better ones since coming to New York as a free agent in 2019.
However, Crowder, 28, is now in his final season of that contract. With the Jets sitting at 1-5 and getting backup quarterback Mike White, who has never started an NFL game, ready to host the hot Bengals on Sunday as a 10.5 point underdog, it’s time for General Manager Joe Douglas to prioritize the future.
If nothing else gets done, Douglas must trade Crowder by Tuesday’s 4pm deadline. I hope the Jets are smart enough to hold him out on Sunday to avoid another injury, but the jury is still out on that.
Again, Crowder has been the consummate pro here, dealing with all the tribulations that come with playing with young quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson and terrible coaches. Outside teams watching the film know he’d still be a pretty decent security blanket for a contender needing WR depth.
The Saints are still waiting on two-time All-Pro Michael Thomas to return from ankle surgery and are tight against the league’s salary cap, but maybe a trade for Crowder can be worked out where the Jets take on salary in exchange for better draft capital. That Douglas downsized Crowder’s 2021 cap hit from $11.375 million to $6.35 million (with only his $4.5 million base salary guaranteed) in the offseason will only help in moving him out. The Steelers, having lost Juju Smith-Schuster to a season-ending shoulder injury, are another team that could use Crowder.
My guess is that Crowder’s straight-up return value is around a fourth-or-fifth round pick, but Douglas has actually fared better in the trade market than he has in his Draft evaluations. Last season, he was able to move up some rounds by auctioning off useless veterans Steve McLendon, Jordan Willis, and Avery Williamson.
Crowder can actually play. Douglas might receive calls on other players, such as pending free agent safety Marcus Maye, but a Crowder deal has to get done, for the sake of progress.
Prediction: Bengals 37 Jets 6