I've been telling the people that this Jets offensive line is not terrible, man.

It's nice to be able to say that because I've been doing this show for 10 years, and most of the time it's like, oh, God, what are we running out there on the offensive line? We have some decent pieces.

A pair of young tackles, Armand Membu, who was the first-round pick in 2025, who looked good, who I think has Pro Bowl potential.

On the other side, you've got Olufashinu, the first-round pick a year earlier in 2024, who I don't know if he's got quite the ceiling of Membu, but looks like he's going to be a solid starter.

And then at guard, you have Joe Tippman, who's played all over the line in his career and been good, just got a lucrative contract extension.

The area the Jets are weak, though, on the offensive line is center with Josh Myers, who was a veteran addition from Green Bay a year ago.

And he was originally supposed to be a backup.

So ultimately this is, for me, the key outside of the big picture, don't be stupid, which covers a lot of things, the defensive line battle and who wins that matchup and gets more pressure on the opposing quarterback to create those turnovers and mistakes, that's really the football thing that will manifest who wins the game.

Yeah

... one of the way- one of the ways I look at this is sometimes during the NFL draft, we try and figure out who's gonna be the elite guy.

Like, who's got the skills that could potentially make them great? And that's, I think that's true with both Cooper and Pons, but another thing I look at is who's got the skills where you know there's just, like, no chance they're gonna be bad? And I just don't see any way, unless he gets injured or something, like, I look at Pons's game, I just don't see any way he's not gonna be a good NFL player.

You know, is he gonna be a Pro Bowler? I don't know.

Is he gonna be an All-Pro? I don't know.

But he's not gonna be, he's not gonna be a weakness for any defense.

Not, you know, whether he plays inside or outside, he's gonna help a team.

Yep

Here's our conversation about Geno Smith's new potentially favorite target.

Nobody can tell us more about Sadiq than my colleague, Spencer McLaughlin, the host of Locked On Ducks here on the Locked On Podcast Network.

Spencer, you cover Oregon, you've covered Sadiq.

So let me start by asking you for just a brief overview of Kenyon Sadiq's three years at Oregon.

Other than that, he is a pure NFL prospect in my view.

I'm so glad you said that because y- one of the things that drives me crazy is these prospects, they get kinda typecast.

Like, if you have, like, a tight end who's, like, slow, people say, "Oh, he's a great blocker." And you, sometimes you watch him on the film and the guy, like, can't hit a block to save his life or-

How big of a need was this for them, and how do you think it impacts what they're gonna end up doing defensively this year?

You know, corner was an interesting spot for the Jets because they have a lot of potential starters.

They have Brandon Stevens, who they signed from Baltimore a year ago, who had an up and down season in 2025.

He started pretty bad, then he picked up midway, mid, mid, the midway point of the season, then had kind of a rough finish.

They have Azaria Thomas, who was a third-round pick a year ago.

Had kind of limited action.

Took over as a starter after sa- after the Sauce Gardner trade, then suffered an injury.

How different is this than what you initially thought the Jets were going to do? Because they've gone a lot of different ways with their picks, but I do think they've gotten a lot of talent in those picks.

How big of a need was this for them, and how do you think it impacts what they're gonna end up doing defensively this year?

You know, corner was an interesting spot for the Jets because they have a lot of potential starters.

They have Brandon Stevens, who they signed from Baltimore a year ago, who had an up-and-down season in 2025.

He started pretty bad, then he picked up midway, mid, mid, the midway point of the season, then had kind of a rough finish.

They have Azaria Thomas, who was a third-round pick a year ago.

Had kind of limited action.

Took over as a starter after sa- after the Sauce Gardner trade, then suffered an injury.

How different is this than what you initially thought the Jets were going to do? Because they've gone a lot of different ways with their picks, but I do think they've gotten a lot of talent in those picks.

What do you like about him and what he's bringing to the table?

I mentioned, Kevin, when we spoke earlier that Kenyon Sadika, 16, was a surprise.

And one of the reasons he was a surprise was most observers expected the Jets to go wide receiver at 16, not tight end.

And Omar Cooper was a name that generated a lot of buzz.

The Jets were in desperate need heading into the draft of an upgrade at the wide receiver spot.

They really had nothing beyond Garrett Wilson.

And I think less than needing a receiver of a specific style, they just needed quality because there really was nobody who was an NFL caliber starter behind Wilson.

And with the way that this Jets team is right now compared to where it was at the beginning of the night, John, how much do you think they improved?

Mm-hmm

... 16 was a surprise, and one of the reasons he was a surprise was most observers expected the Jets to go wide receiver at 16, not tight end, and Omar Cooper was a name that generated a lot of buzz.

The Jets were in desperate need heading into the draft of an upgrade at the wide receiver spot.

They really had nothing beyond Garrett Wilson, and I think less than needing a receiver of a s- specific style, they just needed quality because there really was nobody who's an NFL s- caliber starter behind Wilson.

You know, Cooper, I'm not sure stylistically is the perfect match with Garrett Wilson.

I don't know how great of a deep threat he's going to be, and that's one of the things Garrett Wilson doesn't bring to the table, but this guy is very dynamic after the catch, and hopefully for the Jets can make life easier on Geno Smith.

Now, we're talking about the Jets adding a bunch of talent here through the first round of the draft, and with the way that this Jets team is right now compared to where it was at the beginning of the night, John, how much do you think they improved?

I think they absolutely had to upgrade their pass rush, and the hope is that David Bailey will allow them to do that.

How you feeling about Sadiq and New York?

I think this was a somewhat surprising selection.

Now, most people were expecting the Jets to take a pass catcher at 16, but the expectation was that they were going to take a wide receiver, most likely Makai Lemons.

You know, Jordan Tyson did not fall.

He figured to be in the mix if he had not gone by 16.

There was also some buzz about Omar Cooper out of Indiana.

Sadiq was not on many radars, so I, I think that this was a bit surprising.

Is he gonna be someone that could make an immediate impact year one with the Jets seemingly needing guys to step up in that regard?

How you feeling about Sadiq in New York?

I think this was a somewhat surprising selection.

Now, most people were expecting the Jets to take a pass catcher at 16, but the expectation was that they were going to take a wide receiver, most likely Mekhi Lemon.

You know, Jordan Tyson did not fall.

He figured to be in the mix if he had not gone by 16.

There was also some buzz about Omar Cooper out of Indiana.

Sadiq was not on many radars, so I, I think that this was a bit surprising.

You add another high-level playmaker to this offense, is he gonna be someone that could make an immediate impact year one with the Jets seemingly needing guys to step up in that regard?

Was David Bailey the name you had circled all along for the Jets?

It always seemed like it was gonna be between Arvelle Rees and David Bailey.

Over the last couple of days, Rees was picking up steam, but I'm not shocked that the Jets went with Bailey.

This was a team that really lacked a premium edge rusher, and I think of the two of these prospects, Bailey is the safer pick if you're looking for a guy who can get to the quarterback.

Rees was not a full-time edge rusher at Ohio State.

Now, a lot of smart people, a lot of great analysts think that he's going to develop very well in the NFL as, as a pass rusher, but Bailey did it in college.

You know, he had 14 and a half sacks last year at Texas Tech.

Now, when you talk about this Jets defense as a whole, now with David Bailey on the team, where do you think the Jets look to next defensively? Where are their biggest needs, and what else do you think they need to add?

John Butchko gives his thoughts on the move on Locked On Jets.

The Jets have reacquired quarterback Geno Smith.

We're gonna talk about what Geno needs to do in twenty twenty-six to make this season a success.

But we will begin by breaking down the deal and all of its implications.

On Tuesday afternoon, the news was announced that the Jets had reached terms to a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Jets sending a sixth-round pick to Vegas in exchange for Geno Smith and a seventh-round pick.

The Raiders are also picking up most of Geno's salary.

The Jets will be on the hook to pay Geno Smith three million dollars this year.

Thanks again for tuning in to the Big Three in 30 NFL.

And, uh, I think as, as kind of the host today as the home team, Jon, your honor's to go first.

All right.

Well, I'm gonna pick Josh Allen to start.

Um, so I'm gonna rob, rob you of the chance to have Josh Allen.

For once, I'm gonna have Josh Allen on my team.

And Joe, I was thinking about getting really cute with this and playing the whole angle, you know, Drake Maye six to seven years younger on a rookie contract, but it's best to not overthink this.

Josh Allen right now I think is the best quarterback in the NFL.

Uh, we're gonna go ahead and secure the Bills' O-line.

Mm.

But these last couple of weeks, I mean, there have just been moments where you've seen the gu- the guys are quitting on plays, eh, eh, especially on the defensive side of, side of the ball for the Jets.

Um, I think you said it right.

Get out of your own way then.

First of all that means, you know, bringing intensity to every play.

And I know it's a lost season.

I know that it's frustrating when you fall behind.

Mm-hmm.

What about you?

Yeah, I- I think you have to go with Jacksonville in this game and I- I think there are three possible outcomes.

I think there...

The three outcomes are a Jaguars blowout, a Jaguars narrow win and a Jets narrow upset.

I mean, I- I don't see this being- p- p- possibly being a Jet- a Jets blowout.

I think the path to a Jets victory would entail maybe Jacksonville looking past the Jets, which as- as you mentioned, I- I don't think that's gonna happen.

I think the Jaguars would have to make a lot of mistakes.

(laughs)

I would look for that to be one of the keys for Miami in this game.

My first key for the Jets is stick to the run game.

Um, you know, the, in the first meeting between these teams, the Jets had, had success on the ground.

This is a team that needs to be run oriented because of the limitations they have in the passing game.

Now, I think Tyrod Taylor throws the ball at a higher level, level than Justin Fields, but this is not gonna be a team that's gonna have a lot of success if you're in the drop-back game 40 times i- in a, in a 60-minute game.

Um, last week against the Falcons, if you actually, if you count, like, Tyrod Taylor's scrambles and you count, you know, sacks and throwaways as passing plays, the Jets run, the Jets' pass-to-run ratio was about two to one.

And that's just not gonna get it done.

Yeah.

Yeah.

... just hang in the game, and, you know, it's the type of thing that, that can kind of get a team going.

Um, my number two key for the Jets is they have to be opportunistic on defense.

Um, this is a defense that has struggled to force turnovers this season.

It's, it's one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and that was true even when you had Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner, both of whom I think were playing at a relatively high level.

Um-There's just not many good players left on this defense after these trades.

Um, uh, you know, I know the Browns have had struggles on offense, but I would not trust this defense to stop any offense in the NFL at this point.

(laughs)

(laughs)

...

the second half of the game against Carolina, Tyrod Taylor's in there, you know, you have your, you have your backup quarterback who got none of the first team reps all sea- uh, all, all week.

You have the receiver group I described where you have Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson, Arian Smith and Allen Lazard out there.

And the Jets ran the ball four times in the entire second half of a close game.

And that's even exaggerating it because two of the four runs were Tyrod Taylor scrambles.

Uh, the Jets completely abandoned the run game in the second half, and it did not make a lot of sense.

Yeah.