There should be no groans and no grave concerns about a future in danger.

The New York Jets, for the first time in years, don’t have to be worried about a star player being moved out of the AFC East.

In past years, the Miami Dolphins shipping out wide receiver Jaylen Waddle for an exceptional package could have worried some fans about the team’s future.

Not this time.

Dolphins’ Waddle trade shouldn’t hurt Jets

Miami received the 30th overall pick in the first round of April’s draft, along with third and fourth round picks (the Dolphins also shipped out a fourth-rounder with Waddle).

All of the picks come in this year’s draft. The Jets don’t have to worry about Miami stockpiling assets to potentially leap them for a quarterback in the 2027 draft, which is when New York is expected to make their push.

Gang Green’s loyal fanbase can finally enjoy watching a rival team enter rebuilding mode.

The reason Jets fans may have had trepidation about the deal between Miami and Denver was that they had seen it impact New York before. It would not be the first time an AFC East team began a rebuild at the same time as New York but completed it far more quickly.

It happened with the New England Patriots and Drake Maye. It even happened with the Dolphins in 2020, when they acquired Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami’s trade of Waddle is different, though. While the Dolphins acquired an additional first-round pick in 2026, they still aren’t in nearly as good a position as the Jets are going into either this draft or the 2027 draft. The latter is especially critical, since it is expected to feature a much better class of quarterbacks, according to NFL scouts.

There is another caveat that Miami’s decision to trade Waddle adds even more dead cap to a team already riddled with it. Currently, after the Dolphins have said goodbye to several key players, the organization has a whopping $175 million in dead money.

New York has its own fair share of dead money this season—a difficult $104 million, according to Spotrac. But that is still over $70 million less than what Miami is shelling out.

Those numbers can’t be ignored, especially for teams expected to aggressively pursue a quarterback in 2027.

Jets’ future draft hopes

The biggest oversight that some critics of the Jets are making this offseason is assuming the team is positioning itself to land the top overall pick in 2027 to select the best available quarterback, whether it’s Arch Manning or someone else.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Jets loaded up on quality veteran additions in free agency to pursue a turnaround in the win column this season.

Unlike the Dolphins, though, New York doesn’t need to worry about stockpiling too many wins this season.

Gang Green owns three first-round picks, with selections coming in from the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys (the Cowboys’ pick being the better of Dallas and Green Bay’s first-rounders). Who is to say the Colts won’t be one of the worst teams in football with Daniel Jones returning for another year off an Achilles injury? Would the Cowboys be contenders in the NFC if another injury happens to Dak Prescott?

New York can attempt to win all of their games, drastically improve their win total, and still come away with multiple top-10 selections in the 2027 draft. They don’t need to openly tank as the Dolphins appear to be doing.

And with three first-rounders at their disposal, they have the ammunition to maneuver the board however they want.

The Jets have the flexibility to win games in 2027 without hurting their future. The Dolphins do not.

That is the key reason why Jets fans shouldn’t be concerned over Miami’s blockbuster deal with Denver—at least for the foreseeable future.