The New York Jets that took the field last Sunday to face the Cleveland Browns looked a lot different to the team that recorded their first win of the season two weeks prior in Cincinnati, even if the final act in both cases was a celebration on the field. 

Darren Mougey stated that the trading of Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams didn’t equate to a teardown, but the value on offer was too good to pass up. It’s never easy to trade two All-Pro’s and plenty of fans are disappointed to have lost two good players and two players who were beloved by the fans. 

But the Jets have now positioned themselves to control the first round of the next two drafts, and you can be sure that we’ll be getting into those draft discussions as the season winds down. 

Along with an array of picks, the Jets picked up several intriguing pieces which includes defensive pair Ja’sir Taylor and Mazi Smith, but today we’re focusing on the two new receivers added to the roster in Adonai Mitchell, acquired as part of the Sauce Gardner trade and John Metchie III, acquired in the Michael Carter II trade. 

Aaron Glenn said that he was unsure how long it would take to get both new receivers up to speed. We saw Metchie in limited action on Sunday, and both could play key roles on Thursday, offering intriguing upside for a team looking to improve their receiver room to help Garrett Wilson who is so often doubled on Sundays and has been ruled out this week with a knee injury. 

Let’s start with John Metchie III, who was the 44th selection in the 2022 draft by the Houston Texans. The former Alabama man was forced to miss his entire rookie season as he recovered from acute promyelocytic leukemia, a type of cancer of the white blood cells. In 2023 he joined a Houston Texans team that had plenty of receiving talent ahead of him including Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. 

Two and a half years into his career, I think it’s fair to say that Metchie would have hoped to have more than the 44 catches for 440 yards and 1 touchdown on his resume, especially considering at one point he was generating first round buzz following his 96 catch, 1,142 yard and 8 touchdown season at Alabama, a season in which he secured 61.1% of his contested catches and forced 20 missed tackles. 

Metchie landed in Philadelphia in a trade this offseason but again found himself buried on a depth chart that included DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Dallas Goedert, Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson. That resulted in 4 receptions on 4 targets for 18 yards and a move to the Jets where he should be given an opportunity to showcase his talent with a higher snap % than he’s had at any point in his career. 

The Jets have the perfect opportunity to evaluate him due to him being signed through the 2026 season and this is the perfect example of buying low and trusting your coaches to develop the skills that convinced the Texans to spend a 2nd round pick on him.

Coming out of college Metchie was renowned as a savvy and polished route runner who had plus body control and reliable hands. The fact he’d played in a pro-style offense at Alabama and excelled against elite level competition didn’t hurt either. 

Joining Metchie is Adonai Mitchell, a player who electrified during his one year as a Texas Longhorn in college, making 55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

It’s rare to find a 6’2 receiver who has 4.34 speed and a 1.52 10-yard split. Within those three numbers you find the size you want, the long speed you want and the acceleration you want in a prototype wideout. 

With Mitchell having been drafted in 2024, he’s signed through the 2027 season. Not only does that give the Jets plenty of time to evaluate him, it gives them plenty of time to develop him and unlock his potential. 

That development is clear for everyone to see, even halfway through his second year in the league. He’s improved his reception % from 45.1% to 60.0%, improved his yards per reception from 13.6 to 16.9, and his yards after the catch per reception from 4.5 to 6.2. He hasn’t had a single drop this season on 15 targets and has caught 100% of his contested catches. 

It may be a small sample size, but it shows that Mitchell is heading in the right direction. 

The Jets now have two promising and very exciting young receivers in the mix, players who are signed through the 2026 and 2027 seasons respectively at very reasonable cap hits. The wide receiver room has been refreshed and both players will look to prove that they’re long-term solutions in the quest to find some help for Garrett Wilson.