Jets reportedly looking to add a player via trade at an unlikely position

Jets reportedly looking to add a player via trade at an unlikely position originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Jets are 0-6 and are one of the more obvious sellers at the upcoming NFL trade deadline. Players like Breece Hall and Jermaine Johnson are top trade candidates, as Aaron Glenn and the Jets eye a rebuild that might take some time.

But just because the team's record isn't great doesn't mean that the Jets can't look to add players by the deadline. If someone Glenn likes becomes available, and they could be on the team for multiple seasons, a trade might not be out of the question.

And as Dianni Russini of The Athletic reports, such a trade could wind up happening. Except, the Jets' trade target is at a strange position, as New York is reportedly looking to improve upon one of their best positions this season.

The Jets are looking to add at a strange position at the 2025 trade deadline

"The Jets are already getting calls on linebacker Jermaine Johnson and running back Breece Hall," Russini reports. "They are making calls looking for a kick returner."

At the deadline, the Jets are eyeing a potential change to their kick returner unit. If the team was struggling in that area, it would make some sense to change things up.

But the Jets kick return unit is actually one of the better units in the NFL. Kene Nwangwu and Isiah Davis are the Jets' main two kick returners. Both have been solid, making the Jets' interest in a kick returner acquisition a strange one.

Nwangwu was a Second-Team All-Pro kick returner in 2022 with the Minnesota Vikings, and this season, in his two games as a kick returner for the Jets, he's made four returns for 146 yards, including a 72-yard return during the Jets' Week 6 loss to the Broncos.

According to PFF, Nwangwu is the third-highest graded kick returner in the NFL this season. Davis, the Jets' other main kick returner, is ranked 26th by PFF.

Replacing Nwangwu or Davis doesn't make a lot of sense, especially since across the league, they are good kick returners. However, there is a clear reason why the Jets would be considering a kick returner addition: Breece Hall could be traded.

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If Hall is dealt, Davis would become the number one running back for the Jets. Keeping him on kick returner duties with Nwangwu doesn't make sense if he's going to be heavily involved in the offense.

Instead, Nwangwu and a new addition could get the workload at kick returner. The Jets use two kick returners every week, and if Davis is taking on a lot of offensive workload, then Nwangwu would need a new returner to pair with him the rest of the year.

Isaiah Williams is splitting the returner duties with Nwangwu at the moment, but compared to Davis and Nwangwu, Williams is ranked 132nd by PFF in kick returner grade.

So, while the Jets have Nwangwu and Davis as top 30 kick returners in the NFL, a looming Hall trade and Braelon Allen injury have Davis in a position to receive the bulk of the running back snaps on offense, opening the door for another returner.

The Jets' interest in adding a kick returner is a strange one. Their special teams unit is one of the best in the NFL, and yet, that's the area that Glenn and the front office are planning to add at this year's trade deadline.

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