The NFL trade deadline is less than a week away, and questions about the New York Jets’ plans are emerging.

While it seems unlikely that the team will move stars like Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, anything can happen on trade deadline day. Just think back to last year; who would have told you they believed the Jets would trade Sauce Gardner?

At the end of the day, one thing is true: if a contending team offers to overpay for a player on a 2-6 team like the Jets, it at least warrants consideration. Again, think back to the Gardner situation last year, when the Jets were 1-7 and the Indianapolis Colts were 7-2. Nobody thought the Jets would ever move Gardner, but two first-round picks and Adonai Mitchell were enough to make it happen.

With that in mind, let’s look at the top Jets who could generate buzz as the deadline approaches, and how Gang Green should value them on the market.

Breece Hall

No, no, no, this is not me suggesting that the Jets should trade Hall. I’ve actually been on the polar opposite of the spectrum when people discuss moving Hall because of Braelon Allen’s emergence.

However, let’s explore what New York should value him at. Even with Allen’s strong play in the last five games and Hall sidelined with a quad injury, the Jets shouldn’t value him any lower than they did before.

To put a bow on it, Allen’s coming-out party shouldn’t make the Jets choose between him and Hall. That’s nonsensical. Running back, though, is one of the most commonly targeted positions around the deadline.

Contending teams around the league that are looking for more punch could always use an explosive back like Hall, who offers dual-threat ability as a pass-catcher, too. Also, a premium running back is nowhere near the price of a premium wide receiver.

Obviously, that’s because the two positions make a different impact. It doesn’t typically take a ton of draft capital to acquire a pretty solid RB, even someone in Hall’s tier as a top 10 or so player at his position.

Fans and analysts who are down on Hall need to zoom out and look beyond the past five weeks. Over the past four seasons, Hall has been one of the Jets’ most valuable players overall. He and Garrett Wilson have been the Jets’ only consistent offensive producers since 2022. The outlook at New York’s skill positions is very positive, and Hall is a big part of that.

The team shouldn’t move him just to move him. Still, every player has a price. In Hall’s case, the Jets should ask interested teams for a third-round pick.

It seems unlikely that teams would be willing to pay that. At last year’s deadline, when he was on an expiring contract and before he signed his three-year extension, reports indicated that Gang Green’s best offer was a fourth-round selection.

However, selling Hall for anything less than that would look to be a mistake. What’s more valuable: Breece Hall or a Day 3 draft pick?

Verdict: Third-round pick

Garrett Wilson

Trading Garrett Wilson seems even less likely than moving Hall, but it’s been a topic of debate, so let’s explore the possibility and what it would take, at the very least, for the Jets to consider moving arguably their most valuable player.

First, if the Jets moved him, it would signal a complete organizational reset.

Obviously, they are already a rebuilding team, and the organization’s top selling point this offseason is its war chest of assets, including three first-round picks currently slotted in the top 10. If that comes to fruition by the end of the season, New York would have a chance to become the first team in NFL history to pick three times in the top 10.

Trading Wilson, though, would indicate that the Jets are completely resetting. It would almost certainly solidify the fate of head coach Aaron Glenn, if that hasn’t already been decided internally.

Right now, you could make the case that Wilson is the Jets’ best player. It would take a lot to consider making a deal that would send him elsewhere. In my eyes, it would probably have to look like the Gardner trade, where the Jets added two first-round picks and an interesting young player like Adonai Mitchell.

If the Jets shopped him, I doubt he would get that kind of package. When the Jets traded Gardner, he was widely viewed as a top-five player at his position, at the very least. Some viewed him as a top-three CB.

Wilson, on the other hand, is very talented, but it’s tough to put him in that elite, elite tier of WRs. Consensus-wise, he probably falls somewhere in the eight-to-15 range.

His value around the league would probably look like a late first-round pick, as he’d most likely be sent to a contending team, plus maybe a young player similar to Mitchell. That’s not worth it for the Jets whatsoever; it would need to look similar to the Gardner package.

Also, if the Jets dealt him, they’d not only lose an elite player, but they would also be in an awful cap situation, which could eliminate a fair portion of the future flexibility they commonly flaunt. Since he signed a four-year, $130 million contract extension last summer, which still doesn’t kick in until next season, the Jets would find themselves in a hole.

By trading Wilson, the Jets would absorb a massive $24.3 million dead cap charge for the 2027 season.

Almost every player has a price. Only a handful of players in the league are truly “untouchable,” and Wilson isn’t one of them. But it would still take a lot to move him.

Verdict: Two first-round picks and a young, high-upside player

Will McDonald

Will McDonald is an interesting study. He has one of the league’s most coveted traits, especially for contending teams around the deadline: explosive pass-rushing off the edge. The question, though, remains his consistency.

Just like last year, McDonald’s 2026 season has been up and down. So far, he has logged 16 pressures, ranking 55th among 111 edge rushers, and his three sacks sit at 35th. If you take Week 1 out, though, he has only 11 pressures and two sacks over the past seven games.

Then there is the question of whether he can play the run, since run defense has been a glaring concern since he entered the league. When he’s not impacting the game as a pass-rusher, what exactly is he doing? That’s the biggest problem with McDonald’s game, and it makes him very limited.

He’s in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, although the Jets picked up his fifth-year option for 2027, meaning he is under team control through next year. However, that doesn’t guarantee he will be on the Jets through 2027.

The Iowa State product has struggled to be a consistent disruptor this season, and it’s looking like the team could significantly revamp its front seven this offseason. That’s what makes McDonald a potential candidate to be dealt at the deadline.

If the Jets want to move him, are they better off doing it now at the deadline, or waiting until the offseason and giving him nine games to potentially boost his stock? The answer is almost always the offseason, because it’s when players typically have the most value.

At the trade deadline, though, perhaps the Jets could find a team in dire need of pass-rushing and capitalize on the opportunity. Right now, the Jets are probably looking at his market value sitting around a fourth-round draft pick.

They should push for a third-rounder in trade talks, but ultimately, the highest some teams could be willing to go is a Day 3 selection. At that point, there is a case to be made that the team should wait until the offseason and reassess.

Why force a McDonald trade for a Day 3 pick? If they trade him at the deadline, the asking price should be a third-round pick, or a Day 3 selection plus a young player, not just a late-round draft selection.

Verdict: Third-round pick or Day 3 pick and a young player