Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gave the Jets the blueprint on how to rebuild and they made a big mistake ignoring it
The NFL trade deadline has come and gone with a surprising amount of moves, with six trades across the board.
Of those trades, the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys each made two trades, including one with each other, but it was the former who made the biggest splashes. New general manager Darren Mougey decided to tear it down to the studs. On Tuesday, they traded cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys. In return, the Jets landed:
- 2026 first-round pick (Colts)
- 2026 second-round pick (Cowboys)
- 2027 first-round pick (Colts)
- 2027 first-round pick (higher of Cowboys and Green Bay Packers)
- WR Adonai Mitchell
- NT Mazi Smith
It's quite the shakeup for the Jets, who spent 2023 and 2024 loading up to try and make a run with Aaron Rodgers. This year, they won their first game after losing the first seven games, but the process they went about it wasn't a smart one.
New York Jets didn't learn anything from Minnesota Vikings competitive rebuild
What Mougey chose to do was tear things down to the studs. It's been a popular draft strategy for many teams across the board. The reality is simple: most teardown rebuilds don't work.
Right now, the Chicago Bears are in the midst of coming out of it, and they still have a lot of questions surrounding them. They have a ton of draft picks to bring in young, talented players, but they now have a bare bones roster.
With this draft capital that they have brought back with their trades, the hope is they can find players like Gardner and Williams to add to their team. That's the biggest reason why teams have not been able to dig themselves out of the hole they dug for themselves.
The Bears might be 5-3, but they are loaded with questions and inconsistencies. The Miami Dolphins traded away Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick to spark their rebuild, and it resulted in a total of zero playoff wins. The Detroit Lions didn't do a full teardown, as their only major move was trading Matthew Stafford, but they got two first-round picks and their own franchise quarterback, Jared Goff, in return.
We've seen other teams attempt a full teardown with little success, including the 2017 Cleveland Browns and 2019 Las Vegas Raiders having 5 draft picks over two years. The one thing that trading away stars gives you is lottery tickets for acquiring other stars, but you have to hit on them. One of the reasons that the Lions have had the success that they have is due to their excellent drafting. It's incredibly hard to do that over the course of multiple years, and it's why teams have not been able to do so.
It's also surprising why teams haven't tried to take the Minnesota Vikings' approach. When general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took the Vikings job ahead of the 2022 season, he got it in part that Ryan Poles reportedly wanted to strip the Vikings down to the studs and ownership didn't want to do that.
People laughed at the idea of the competitive rebuild, but it sincerely worked. Adofo-Mensah's teams went a combined 34-17 under his leadership, with 13 and 14-win seasons, an NFC North title, and two playoff appearances in the first three years. During that time, Adofo-Mensah found a way to continue winning and fixed a salary cap that was filled with brutal contracts and no flexibility.
His success shouldn't be viewed as a one-off. Adofo-Mensah laid out a blueprint for success. You don't have to unload every superstar just to get draft capital, as you can do it by keeping those players and putting the right pieces around them.
The ultimate goal is to win football games, and choosing not to win football games for an extended period of time isn't a smart strategy. Once you choose not to win, it's hard to get back into winning ways.
If the Jets end up taking every pick acquired and find superstars, then it would work. However, there is zero guarantee they end up getting there, and it could end up the exact same way the other teams did: in failure.
Broncos QB Bo Nix Gives Strong Reaction After Trade Deadline Decision
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Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos reacts against the Houston Texans.
The Denver Broncos let the 2025 trade deadline come and go without getting anything done. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix offered strong thoughts about why that was. He also spoke about what it means for the team this season.
It was not as if the Broncos did not try. However, their desire fell short of what was required to make something happen.
For Nix, the decision came as little to no surprise.
Bo Nix: ‘Great’ Broncos Confident Enough to Stand Pat at Trade Deadline
GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos reacts after defeating the New York Giants.
Nix fielded a question about what is says to the team that the Broncos did not go all out to add a piece. Particularly, he was asked what it says about head coach Sean Payton’s faith in the group.
Nix called it “great.”
“Obviously, if there’s a need, you want to get it,” Nix told reporters on November 4. “But we feel like we got all the pieces. And so, sometimes when something like that happens, it shakes things up. And we got something good going, and we just want to keep riding this wave and finding ways to win.”
Much of the conversation around the Broncos’ trade plans stemmed from seeking help for Nix, be it another target or protection amid injuries to their offensive line.
The Broncos attempted to bring in tight ends and explored wide receiver trades.
Their biggest addition was veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis, who will have a bit role on the field and provide a locker room presence. Other than that, it is up to Nix and his current crop of pass catchers to take the necessary next steps.
Broncos WR Reacts to Trade Deadline
GettyTroy Franklin #11 of the Denver Broncos reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts.
One of Nix’s top targets, current Broncos wideout and former Oregon Ducks teammate Troy Franklin, spoke candidly about the Broncos’ lack of action at the deadline.
According to Franklin, it was not surprising based on what they had been told.
“Sean (Payton has) been telling us all year he loves our team, loves the receiver group and we don’t really need anything, so he’s kept his word,” Franklin said, per The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson in a post on X on November 4.
Payton said leading up to the deadline that the Broncos would be open to a deal. However, that was only if it provided actual value, and not just to make something happen.
Franklin “especially” did not expect a WR move, per Tomasson, but Denver explored its options.
“The Broncos did NOT make a trade before the trade deadline,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens reported on X on November 4. “From my understanding, they looked into making moves, but didn’t force anything.”
Bo Nix: Broncos Looking to ‘Improve Faster’ Than Competition
GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos on the field after defeating the Houston Texans.
Nix acknowledged the Broncos’ fourth-quarter prowess has belied the difficulty of scoring. He joked that not facing a top defense like the Houston Texans in Week 9 would help. He also noted that the Broncos are far from satisfied with so much of the season left.
At 7-2, tied for the best record in the NFL, and riding a six-game winning streak is nice, but hardly their end goal.
Their main focus is continuing to improve.
“We have so many things that we want to correct. And we feel like we haven’t even played a complete game offensively, much less, as a team. And so, I think once we start doing that, then we got to be careful about being too lax. But until then, we’re all in a growth mindset, and we’re worried about the things that we can fix,” Nix told reporters on Tuesday.
“Because there’s several of them from each position that we’re trying to focus on. And until we’re hitting all the ones that we need to hit, I don’t think we’re going to be able to be relaxed. Because we have a lot of guys that are competitive. We don’t have a bunch of frontrunners. We just got a locker room full of guys that are trying to race to improve, and improve faster than everybody else in the league.”
