For those old enough to experience it, the Herschel Walker trade remains the gold standard for rebuild kick-starts. On Oct. 13, 1989, the Dallas Cowboys dealt their best player to the Minnesota Vikings. <\/p>\n
What they received was nothing short of a magnificent NFL draft haul. While the details of the massive trade are always fun to remember, they serve no purpose for the idea of the day. <\/p>\n
In short, a 0-5 Jimmy Johnson-led Cowboys team traded their best player in an NFL where such a thing is hard to fathom. When excluding the San Diego Chargers\u2014the third cog in the wheel\u2014the blockbuster deal featured five players and eight draft picks. <\/p>\n
Johnson, a first-year professional football head coach (having previously led the Miami Hurricanes to domination), would go on to use those picks to select the likes of Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, and Darren Woodson. <\/p>\n
Of course, Dallas\u2019 fortunes ultimately turned around, as evidenced by the early 1990s dynasty that featured three Super Bowl appearances in four seasons. The Walker deal turned out to be such a coup that Jimmy Johnson\u2019s point-driven NFL draft value chart was established\u2014something still in use today. <\/p>\n
Thus, the legend of the Herschel Walker trade commenced. Over three decades later, legend remains firmly entrenched in our football hearts. <\/p>\n
Our football minds are an entirely different story, however, and it\u2019s this part of the story that introduces the current New York Jets. Dealing a couple of All-Pro defenders<\/a> at the trade deadline this past season placed Jets fans in the Herschel Walker-esque frame of mind. <\/p>\n There are just a few things to consider if\/when believing an organizational move like this is the rebuild appetizer many believe it to represent. <\/p>\n The Jets\u2019 deadline moves are a positive<\/p>\n Make no mistake about it: The New York Jets\u2019 decision to offload Sauce Gardner<\/a> and Quinnen Williams<\/a> is a net-positive. <\/p>\n Firstly, the obvious positives come in the form of incremental draft capital. The Jets are now equipped with five first-rounders and three second-rounders in the next two NFL drafts. <\/p>\n That alone is worth the price of long-term packing. <\/p>\n Perhaps more importantly, the idea that the Jets\u2019 lightbulb moment hit the Aaron Glenn regime early in the 2025 season is much more encouraging. Starting a discouraging 0-7 in his first year, it\u2019s possible that the defensive-minded head coach understood what had to be done \u2026 <\/p>\n Trade away the best defensive pieces with an eye on loading up the offensive side of the ball\u2014in an offensively efficient football world. This would mean general manager Darren Mougey gets multiple top-of-the-draft cracks at finding the team\u2019s franchise quarterback, along with premium pick versatility in the weapons department. <\/p>\n Of course, that\u2019s only the hope. Either way, it\u2019s safe to say that few would argue against the Sauce and Big Q trades.<\/p>\n At the same time, making those moves does not automatically equate to near-automatic promising status. An organization\u2019s mindset shifting from a win-now to a stockpile approach is a challenging and tricky endeavor\u2014in more ways than one.<\/p>\n Look around the league: This isn\u2019t 30 years ago<\/p>\n Interestingly, as warm and fuzzy as the potential (and unknown) benefits of draft capital may be, the NFL is a foreign land for far too many individuals. Making this move seemingly doesn\u2019t create the same turnaround odds as they once did. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s examine the league for examples where additional draft capital led to a surefire rebuild \u2026 <\/p>\n The Kansas City Chiefs surely didn\u2019t rise to prominence by way of a Walker-esque deal. In 2017, the same year the most significant needle-mover was drafted No. 10 overall, Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City had only six selections (one first, one second, and one third). <\/p>\n In fact, the only year the franchise had more than one first-round pick was 2022, when cornerback Trent McDuffie and edge George Karlaftis were chosen. In 2017, 2018, and 2021, KC had no first-rounder to even speak of. <\/p>\n Can the Philadelphia Eagles suffice as the example needed? Not really. <\/p>\n Incredibly, only once in the last 32 drafts has Philadelphia enjoyed the benefit of having an additional first-round selection. Other than defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge Nolan Smith in 2022 (the same draft year the team had zero second-rounders, and two thirds), the Eagles have either chosen once or not at all in the first round. <\/p>\n Maybe more recent turnaround examples can lift our spirits. How about the Chicago Bears? Ah, ok; this one helps the cause. <\/p>\n Chicago entered the 2025 NFL draft with a first-round pick and three second-round picks (zero third-rounders. The franchise also had two firsts in 2024, yet it didn\u2019t have a single second-rounder and only had five picks total. In 2023, the Bears were loaded with capital. They had a first, two seconds, a third, and two fourths (10 total picks). <\/p>\n All told, the Bears could be described as flipping the script courtesy of extra draft capital. Then again, who was the superstar they used as the chip? The real asset that acquired additional capital was the 2023 No. 1 overall pick they sent to the Carolina Panthers, who ultimately tabbed Bryce Young as their savior. <\/p>\n The Los Angeles Rams are another recent championship squad, yet they\u2019ve been notorious for trading away draft capital. Sean McVay\u2019s team has only had one first-round pick in the last nine years. Acquiring Jalen Ramsey from the Jacksonville Jaguars for two first-round picks in 2019 is just one of the Rams\u2019 many counter-rebuild-culture transactions made in recent years. <\/p>\n The perennially competing Buffalo Bills dished out a first for Stefon Diggs, the Eagles did the same for AJ Brown, and the San Francisco 49ers acquired aging back Christian McCaffrey for a bevy of selections.<\/p>\n What in the world is going on?<\/p>\n There really aren\u2019t modern examples that could even dream of falling under the \u201csuperstar trade for draft capital\u201d rebuild kick-start column. In fact, the teams continuously attempting to travel down that road remain stuck in the mud.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve been here before, folks<\/p>\n One of the more misguided fan speak phrases this past offseason was as follows: \u201cFinally, the Jets are doing things the right way. They\u2019re not going the superstar or aging veteran route (via Aaron Rodgers), and they\u2019re going about their business quietly, while coming correct.\u201d<\/p>\n Is everybody three years old? We literally just went through the same thing with Joe Douglas a handful of years ago. <\/p>\n Douglas\u2019s Jets decided to trade several players to acquire additional selections. They traded Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> for two first-rounders, offloaded Leonard Williams to the New York Giants, and packed Sam Darnold\u2019s bags for Carolina. <\/p>\n