Sometimes, the best thing an NFL general manager can do is just admit their mistakes.

It’s tough parting ways with draft picks, especially a year after selecting them, but in certain cases, it is the best course of action.

For the New York Jets and GM Darren Mougey, they face two decisions on cutdown day regarding Day 3 draft picks a year ago: wide receiver Arian Smith and defensive lineman Tyler Baron.

At the end of the day, it’s best for Mougey and New York to cut their losses with Smith and Baron instead of carrying them on the 53-man roster.

Jets must move on from Smith and Baron today

Based on Arian Smith’s college resume, he could have very well been a sixth or seventh-round pick.

Instead, the Jets selected him in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Smith had a limited track record of production in college. Before his senior season at Georgia, he hadn’t caught more than eight passes in a season.

During his senior campaign, though, he played an integral role in the Bulldogs’ offense, catching 48 passes for 817 yards and four touchdowns throughout 14 games (17.0 yards per reception). Smith was largely used as a deep threat, and his 4.36-second 40-yard dash affirmed the hope that he could develop into a solid field-stretcher in the pros.

In his rookie season, though, he failed to make any impact in the Jets’ offense. Even in a year when the team’s WR room was riddled with injuries and the coaching staff was trying to assess young players by the end of the season, he still struggled to get on the field.

Smith was targeted 16 times and hauled in just seven receptions for 52 yards. While his separation skills flashed on film at points, his rookie film was largely disappointing.

To stick around on the Jets’ roster after the team revamped its WR room this offseason, he needed to deliver a strong summer. That hasn’t been the case at all.

Smith was targeted twice in the preseason. The first target came in the opener, where he dropped a pass that led to an interception. Later, he hauled in a reception for five yards in the finale, deep into the fourth quarter with New York’s fourth-team offense, which is an indicator of how Gang Green views him.

The only time Smith heard his name called was in the team’s Week 2 preseason game, when he was penalized for an illegal block in the back on special teams.

At this point, the Jets’ best course of action is to simply move on from the Georgia product and chalk it up as a failed pick.

Baron is in a different situation.

Amid an uneventful rookie season, the fifth-round pick, whom the Jets traded up to land, sustained a knee injury in Week 14, and he’s spent the entire offseason on the team’s PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list.

Similar to Smith, Baron struggled to find the field during his rookie campaign, even at a position where the Jets struggled to find reliable rotational pieces, leaving the door wide open for someone like him to earn a role.

He couldn’t break through. Over six games, after being a healthy scratch in a handful of outings, he played 95 snaps, generating just four pressures without a sack or quarterback hit.

Now, similar to Smith’s situation in the WR room, the Jets revamped their group at edge rusher this offseason with the additions of Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare in free agency and the selection of David Bailey at No. 2 overall.

That leaves Baron buried on a crowded depth chart with no path to snaps once he is healthy. If they wanted to, the Jets could stash Baron on the reserve/PUP list, which would keep him off the initial 53-man roster.

However, that would just delay the inevitable.

Moving on from two draft picks after just one season is never ideal, especially when one was a fourth-round selection, and the other was landed through a trade-up.

Regardless, draft position shouldn’t be the reason they make the roster. Smith had a full offseason to earn his spot, but failed to capitalize, while Baron struggled early on. Since his injury, New York has improved drastically at EDGE.

Neither pick worked out. Mougey should recognize that and move on.

It’s much wiser to use those roster spots on players who have done more to earn them this summer.