Jamal Adams could reportedly be traded during the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jets and these five teams should be on the phones to make a deal with New York.
One of the hottest names at the 2019 NFL trade deadline that wasn’t actually dealt was New York Jets safety Jamal Adams. The 2017 first-round pick has been an absolute stud for Gang Green but apparent unhappiness with the organization and coaching staff has led to some potential unrest. And though he remained with the Jets, he’s now the subject of trade rumors once again.
With the 2020 NFL Draft less than a week away, it appears that Adams could be on the move. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday that the All-Pro safety likely will not participate in the Jets’ virtual offseason program and there has been no interest in working out an extension between the two parties.
That led to Schefter saying that he’s a name who should be monitored during draft week.
The Jets entertained offers for All-Pro safety Jamal Adams at last year’s trade deadline; might be a name to monitor again during draft week. https://t.co/ScBUoLoiVr
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 17, 2020
There’s no question that Adams is a terrific player whose on-field performance has nothing to do with why he’d be traded. But assuming that Jamal Adams is actually on the trade block, these five NFL teams should be on the phones trying to work out a deal with the Jets.
5. Miami Dolphins
After completely tearing down their roster last offseason and being expected to have an abysmal 2019 campaign, the Miami Dolphins actually surprised a lot of people last season by winning five games. But now eyeing a 2020 draft where they will have six selections in the top 70 picks, the Dolphins could make big strides. That’s especially true after they were aggressive in free agency, headlined by signing star cornerback Byron Jones to a massive contract.
One of the Dolphins’ big moves this offseason was to release veteran safety Reshad Jones. Furthermore, they traded Minkah Fitzpatrick, a 2018 first-round pick, for a 2020 first-round selection early in this past season. That ultimately leaves the Miami defense pretty bare at the position right now.
But with the way that general manager Chris Grier has operated so far this offseason, it’s clear he wants to start making a massive turnaround right away. Landing a player like Adams would be a move to make that happen. Bringing him in from the Jets wouldn’t be hard with their abundance of draft capital to work with and he could join Jones and Xavien Howard in comprising one of the highest-upside secondaries in the NFL.
4. Detroit Lions
Over the past year, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia have started to implement a new vision for the secondary. Not only did they bring in the likes of Justin Coleman last offseason but they also traded both Quandre Diggs and Darius Slay while also trading for Duron Harmon and signing Desmond Trufant this offseason.
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The Lions are expected to continue rebuilding their secondary in the 2020 NFL Draft as they are projected to select Ohio State cornerback Jeffrey Okudah, the top player at the position, with the No. 3 overall pick. However, that would still leave the back end of the defense with a few question marks as Harmon is not a full-on replacement for what Diggs gave Detroit as a playmaker.
Jamal Adams could potentially be that type of player, though. He’s been an incredibly versatile monster for the Jets this past season. Though he has only two career interceptions to this point, he has 25 passes defensed, six forced fumbles, 273 combined tackles and 28 tackles for loss already in his three years in the league.
As was showcased in New York, Adams has the ability to line up at either safety spot, move down into coverage as a sub-package defensive back and even work well as a blitzer off of the edge. He’s a chess piece that could be a trump card for the Lions defense with the creativity of Patricia moving him all over the board.
3. Chicago Bears
Last offseason, we saw the Chicago Bears ink Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to a one-year contract. The goal of that was to keep young safety Eddie Jackson playing at a high level by pairing him with another strong safety despite the departure of Adrian Amos in free agency.
Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly work for the Bears. Because Clinton-Dix offers little versatility and is more of a pure free safety, Jackson was essentially forced to play out of position for much of the 2019 season. Now that Clinton-Dix is gone, however, the Bears would love to move Jackson back to primarily roaming as a free safety with versatility.
Though Adams is capable of moving to multiple spots on the field, his most natural position is that of a strong safety with coverage ability. Putting him in the Windy City would allow Jackson to move to free safety and for the two young players to form a dynamic duo in the back of the secondary. Those two could present a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators given their overall versatility.
Many expect the Bears to try and address the safety position in the 2020 NFL Draft. However, Chicago doesn’t have a first-round pick at their disposal. Subsequently, their most immediate chance to upgrade would be to try and work out a deal for Adams and that could very much work to the benefit of the defense.
2. Cleveland Browns
As part of the trade that landed the Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon last offseason, the organization sent former first-round pick Jabrill Peppers to the Giants. While it was difficult to argue with the trade given what the Browns got in return, the hole that Peppers left at safety was quite obvious.
Whether it was Damarious Randall, Morgan Burnett or Sheldrick Redwine, among others, the Browns never found a consistent answer at either safety spot, be it because of injuries or just poor performance. Now that Randall and Burnett are gone, though, the Browns are clearly in search of trying to find more answers at the position.
In free agency this offseason, Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry was aggressive at the position as he signed former Raiders first-rounder Karl Joseph and veteran Andrew Sendejo as well. But while both players could be upgrades from last season, it also feels safe to say that the best player the Browns could add would be Jamal Adams.
The Jets safety, as discussed, would be an absolute boom on the back end of the defense. His ability to move and play in the box would help alleviate some concerns that the Browns have at linebacker while his ability in coverage on the back end or in the nickel would help to shore up the secondary right away.
1. Dallas Cowboys
One of the teams that was heavily connected to Jamal Adams at the 2019 NFL trade deadline was the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, it was hard to hear anything about the trade rumors surrounding the safety without someone mentioning the possibility of America’s Team making another big deadline move to acquire him.
That obviously never came to fruition for Dallas and the need at safety persisted for the club. Though Xavier Woods has proved to be a tremendous value selection as a late-round pick, Jeff Heath always put a cap on the ceiling of the Cowboys at safety. And while they signed Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency this offseason, it’s only a one-year deal and they could use a long-term answer.
Adams undoubtedly has the talent to fill that void. He and Woods both bring a ton of versatility to the safety position as they can, in theory, line up in the box or in coverage and have the ability to drop into other various roles as well. That would give new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan a great opportunity to have chess pieces to win matchups on a game-by-game basis.
From years of watching him operate, we know that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones loves to make a big splash. He did so in 2018 by trading a first-round pick for Amari Cooper, who just signed a $100 million deal this offseason with Dallas. Perhaps he strikes again on the trade market by getting a former first-round pick at a position of need by making a trade with the Jets for Jamal Adams.