Just when NFL fans were about to die of chronic boredom, the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks spiced up the news cycle with a wide receiver trade.

Sure, it’s a wide receiver who has never caught an NFL pass in 25 games, but we’ll take it!

The Jets traded 29-year-old wide receiver and special teams ace Irvin Charles to the Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round pick. Charles had been with the Jets organization since he joined them as an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of D-II Indiana (PA).

Here are three takeaways from the move.

1. The Jets feel great about their coverage units on special teams

From 2023 to 2024, Charles had established himself as a high-level player for the Jets’ punt and kick coverage units. He collected 14 total tackles in 25 games, and in both seasons, his special teams grade (per Pro Football Focus) was above 88.0.

Charles missed the entire 2025 season with an ACL injury that he suffered late in the 2024 campaign. Without him, the Jets’ special teams didn’t just survive, but it thrived. New York had the NFL’s best special teams unit, according to the DVOA metric; it also ranked as the fifth-best unit in NFL history, dating back to 1978.

Notably, the Jets allowed the second-fewest yards per punt return (6.3) and had the league’s best punting unit based on DVOA.

The Jets were successful in finding playmakers to fill Charles’ shoes on the punt and kick coverage units. Arian Smith, Qwan’tez Stiggers, Andrew Beck, Mykal Walker, Dean Clark, and Malachi Moore are among the players who performed at a high level in various return coverage roles, and all six remain on the roster.

2. A vote of confidence in Arian Smith

It is clear that New York’s coaching staff is happy with the return coverage talent on the roster, deeming Charles expendable.

That says a lot about players like Smith and Stiggers, who can play Charles’ gunner role on the punt team. After a historic season on special teams, it is apparent that the Jets emphasize special teams play more than the average NFL organization. Given that emphasis, parting with a proven player like Charles is a strong vote of confidence in the players who will fill his shoes.

Smith, in particular, comes out as a winner of this trade, considering Chris Banjo’s recent comments praising Smith’s special teams ability. With Smith’s path to a role on offense looking murky, he might need to stand out on special teams to make New York’s 53-man roster. The Charles trade not only opens a gunner role for him to seize, but it suggests that the Jets are confident Smith will rise to the challenge.

3. Darren Mougey can get value out of anyone

He has yet to complete two full years as an NFL general manager, but it is already obvious that Darren Mougey excels at maximizing the value of players on the trade market, whether they are a proven superstar or a bottom-of-the-roster special teamer.

At last year’s trade deadline, Mougey extracted maximum value for All-Pros Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams; since then, multiple NFL trades involving comparable players have yielded lesser packages.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mougey has consistently managed to turn expendable players like Charles into some form of value, which is a net positive for the organization. Earlier this year, he traded lame-duck quarterback Justin Fields for a sixth-round pick. Last August, he dealt expendable nose tackle Derrick Nnadi for a conditional sixth-for-seventh swap, right before the Jets were about to cut him.

There is a good chance that Charles will not meet the conditions of this trade, meaning the Jets will end up with nothing from the deal. Still, doing as little as creating an above-zero chance of netting a seventh-round pick is a win for Mougey and the organization. The team gave away a 29-year-old special teamer who is coming off an ACL injury and was not going to make the team; there is no risk here.

The more that Mougey and the Jets stack up these tiny wins on the margins, the better the team will look in the long haul. Over the years, the microscopic value yielded by each of these little moves will accumulate into massive value that separates the Jets from the average NFL team.