Bill Belichick hints Pats tried to screw NY Jets in 2023 draft

Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick, Getty Images

It seems like the Patriots truly did attempt to screw the New York Jets in the 2023 draft

A former major adversary of the New York Jets has given some insight into a highly debated maneuver he performed in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Appearing on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Bill Belichick spoke about his trade down that allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft Georgia tackle Broderick Jones one spot ahead of the Jets.

“We only traded back a couple of spots. We were pretty confident that the Steelers were looking for a tackle, and we were pretty confident that the Jets weren’t going to take a corner because they had taken [Sauce] Gardner the year before. We thought both teams were looking for the same thing…we were really interested in the corner,” said Belichick.

“We would have stayed and taken Gonzalez if there wasn’t a trade available. But we had the option to move back a couple of spots. Of course, we didn’t know that the Steelers would take the guy the Jets wanted. I mean, I would say we weren’t heartbroken that it happened, but that’s the way it goes.”

The trade led to New York taking edge rusher Will McDonald with the 15th overall pick. New England moved down to No. 17 and selected cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

New York initially owned the 13th pick in the 2023 draft, one spot ahead of where Pittsburgh ended up taking Jones. However, the Jets swapped places with the Packers as part of the Aaron Rodgers trade, pushing them down two spots. This allowed Pittsburgh to swap places with New England and jump New York for one of the top tackle prospects, something the Jets desperately needed at the time.

It remains to be seen how Jones will pan out in the NFL, but it would have been ideal for the Jets to land a tackle with that pick. The offensive line was one of their top needs going into the draft, and it only became a bigger issue once the season began and the unit endured countless injuries.

Jones would have earned plenty of reps in his rookie year. Going into 2024, the Jets likely would have had Jones penciled in as one of their starters. Instead, the Jets were forced to add two starting tackles this offseason: Morgan Moses and Tyron Smith.

While the Jets have done well improving their offensive line and look primed to compete in 2024, missing out on Jones was a moment that had a major ripple effect on their future. Belicichk’s comments on “McAfee” seem to all but confirm that he had the Jets in mind when he executed the trade, only further cementing his reputation as one of the Jets’ all-time greatest adversaries.

Next Article:

Poll:

More Jet X:

Subscribe to become a Jet X Member to unlock every piece of Jets X-Factor content (film breakdowns, analytics, Sabo with the Jets, etc.), get audio versions of each article, receive the ability to comment within our community, and experience an ad-free platform experience.

Sign up for Jet X Daily, our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning at 8:00 a.m. ET:

Download the free Jet X Mobile App to get customizable notifications directly to your iOS (App Store) or Android (Google Play) device.

Add Jets X-Factor to your Google News feed and/or find us on Apple News to stay updated with the New York Jets.

Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) @jetsxfactor for all the latest New York Jets news, Facebook for even more, Instagram for some of the top NY Jets images, and YouTube for original Jets X-Factor videos and live streaming.

About the Author:

Related Articles:

Comments:

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
2 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments