Weird is the NFL trade that immediately seems to make sense to both sides, but that’s exactly what we got on Saturday. After spending the past few months trying to plan his escape from the Jets, Jamal Adams finally got his wish. New York sent the Security All-Pro and a 2022 fourth-round pick to the Seahawks in exchange for two first-round picks (in 2021 and 2022), a third round in 2021, and safety veteran Bradley McDougald. It’s a massive Transportation for Jets general manager Joe Douglas, especially for someone who doesn’t play what is considered a premium position. But the agreement seems to align with the vision that both franchises have, for the present and the future.
The knee jerk reaction is that Seattle gave up much for Adams, who will likely request an extension to establish the market as part of the deal and now has the leverage to make it happen. Two first-round picks is a considerable investment, particularly considering that the other players who have garnered so much in recent exchanges have been an elite passer (Khalil Mack), a left tackle (Laremy Tunsil) and a cornerback ( Jalen Ramsey). But I wouldn’t be surprised if Douglas used those deals as a starting point in the negotiations. Insurance is generally not a high value position, but Adams is not typical security. He lined up in nearly every defensive position for the Jets last season and finished with 13 quarterback hits, seven pass breaks, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. According to Pro Football Focus, Adams counted 23 interrupted kicks with only 90 fast passes, making him the most disruptive NFL passer by play. Douglas likely made it clear to Seattle that Adams was a young first and second safety superstar, and that young superstars don’t trade in the NFL for less than two first-round picks.
From the Jets ‘perspective, the Seahawks’ final offer was too good to turn down. On the one hand, Adams surely seems like the type of building block that a rebuilding team like the Jets would want to hold on to – he’s a versatile and impactful defender who could have been a pivotal presence for years to come. Even when Adams tried out loud and publicly to force a trade, the Jets had no reason to consider low-level offers. But when a team offers two first-round picks and an initial caliber security in exchange for someone who wants to go out anyway, would be irresponsible no To consider it Douglas had no reason to hear Adams’ noise and let another team steal the best player on their roster, but New York’s return on this deal is proof that he was negotiating from a position of strength.
When Douglas received the job from GM Jets in June 2019, he faced a brutal uphill climb after years of organizational incompetence. Just a year later, his version of the franchise begins to take shape. The Jets are considerably worse without Adams in the short term, but adding two first-round picks could provide a big boost for a team trying to determine its long-term plan and direction. After this season, Douglas may also go through several costly free-agent deals that were signed before his arrival. The Jets are poised to enter the 2021 offseason with considerable cap flexibility, even if the cap is set around the agreed-upon $ 175 million floor, plus multiple first-round picks. This was an opportunity for Douglas to press the reset button and position the Jets for future success.
Seattle’s thinking here is more complicated and deserves a little more scrutiny. Dealing with Adams is in line with the aggressive approach that GM John Schneider has taken during his tenure. In the last calendar year alone, the Seahawks have traded for passer Jadeveon Clowney, safety Quandre Diggs, defender Quinton Dunbar and now Adams. And if we go back a little further, Schneider broke away from the first-round picks when he traded for Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham. He is a general manager who is willing to change every rock to improve his roster, and that mindset has paid dividends.
Clowney and Diggs were available at impressive discounts last year, and both had an immediate impact on Pete Carroll’s defense. The difference with the Adams exchange is that this is not an instance of Schneider paving another list by value. Seattle paid the full freight to bring Adams into the fold. The move carries more risks than any operation Schneider has performed, and that speaks to Seattle’s thinking.
It may not have been obvious because the Seahawks continued to win at a decent pace, but the franchise underwent its own version of a rebuild for the past two seasons. When the Legion of Boom era ended, Schneider purged Seattle’s list of almost all of its expensive veteran contracts. The franchise followed that de facto restart by temporarily making Russell Wilson the NFL’s highest-paid QB with a four-year, $ 140 million contract; A few months later, he made Bobby Wagner the highest-paid linebacker in the league by giving him a three-year, $ 54 million extension. The idea was that Wilson and Wagner would act as the centerpieces on offense and defense, respectively, and that the Seahawks could use their newly discovered flexibility to build around them as they choose. With so much blank canvas to work with, Schneider has attacked the commercial market whenever a potential impact player is available, and has done so again with Adams. Seattle will have more than $ 30 million in cap space by 2021, even if the cap is set at the $ 175 million floor. The Seahawks were in a unique position to make this kind of welcoming move, for more than one reason.
Wilson is the cornerstone of Seattle’s recent model of teamwork, and the reason Schneider probably felt comfortable making a bold move to hook Adams. While there have been many doubts about the Seahawks’ offensive philosophy, Wilson is good enough to make this team relevant in the NFC regardless of strategy. The Seahawks have won at least 10 games in seven of their eight seasons as a starter, and in recent years a disproportionate amount of that success is due to Wilson’s greatness. When the Bears traded for Mack and the Rams traded for Ramsey, they didn’t have the quarterback certainty Seattle has with Wilson. The Adams trade is undeniably risky, but the Seahawks are operating as if they were a force in the NFC both this season and for years to come. And given the success they’ve had with Wilson and Carroll, that’s reasonable. When his base season includes double-digit wins, the jump to the Super Bowl contender doesn’t take long. Carroll and his team have been phenomenal in quickly recruiting new players and deploying them in ways that maximize their talents.
For a Seahawks defense with big questions about his passing rush, Adams is the kind of multifaceted star who could make up for other shortcomings and put this team on top. And for two first-round picks, the better. When a team with an irregular draft record makes a move like this, a common saying in NFL circles is that those teams probably would have been wasted anyway. In most cases, that line of thinking is silly. The success of the draft has proven over time to be random. The most important factor in building great teams through the draft is consistently having enough choices to have multiple opportunities to find the right players.
However, in the case of Seattle, the recent draft of the record really plays a role. Selecting near the end of the first round in recent years, the Seahawks have consistently taken low-ceiling players into undervalued positions. Running back Rashaad Penny, passing runner LJ Collier and linebacker Jordyn Brooks were first-round picks who were immediately criticized for place value. The argument against swapping first-round picks is that the potential and cost control associated with those picks is too valuable to discount. Well, the Seahawks’ recent approach has put an artificial limit to that part of that equation, and their failure to find quality players has also led to financial ramifications.
One drawback to swapping for a player just to give him a monster spread is that he exhausts the limit resources a team might need to eventually sign their own draft picks. For the Seahawks, their recent stumbles have removed that obligation. Seattle’s 2016 first-round pick Germain Ifedi is already off the list. None of his 2017 second-round players are online to a great extent; in fact, defensive tackle Malik McDowell is out of the league entirely. Penny was displaced by coach Chris Carson when the team started running. And even if Collier arrives this season, the most lucrative parts of his deal are likely to go into effect after initial guarantees on an Adams extension have already been paid. While cornerback Shaquill Griffin will become a free agent next offseason and is in line for a new deal, the Seahawks have no major financial commitments on the horizon. Even with the uncertainty of the cover, Seattle should still have the space to comfortably accommodate Adams in the books when its extension takes effect.
The composition of the Seahawks roster and its promising prospect are reasons why evaluating trades like this in a vacuum is difficult. Under the terms, it’s undeniable that Seattle overpaid for Adams, but it’s easy to understand why Schneider was willing to do the trade anyway. It is a win now move for a team created to win now. And for the Jets, it’s a smart long-term move for a team that plays the long game. Both Schneider and Douglas likely went to bed on Saturday believing they had gotten the best possible end of the deal. That says everything you need to know.
