Who is the biggest winner of the Indianapolis Colts’ trade deadline fire sale? The New York Jets, and it isn’t close. The Colts traded DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers after an earlier deal that sent Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. Every move Indianapolis makes gets the Jets closer to a premium pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Those two deals are not expected to be the last ones, either, with players like Josh Downs, Charvarius Ward, and Jonathan Taylor potentially on the way out.

Why does any of this matter for New York? As part of the Sauce Gardner trade, the Jets own the Colts’ first-round pick in 2027.

Why the Colts’ collapse helps New York

The Jets don’t just have Indy’s pick. They also hold a first-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys and their own, which gives them three first-rounders. All three of those picks sit inside the top 12 of the current draft order.

Indianapolis is already 2-5 and is unloading quality starters. A team that is shedding that much talent isn’t going to find its footing over the final 10 weeks. That makes the Colts’ pick a strong candidate to land very high in the draft, and it already sits inside the top 10.

Dallas beat the Eagles in Philadelphia to improve to 3-4, but the Cowboys’ pick still sits at No. 12 in the draft order. That pick belongs to the Jets as well in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Look, I’ve said it before. Three first-round picks are a great thing to have no matter where they land. Even if all three fell in the 20s and 30s, that would be a huge haul. The more likely outcome is that all three end up as top-15 picks.

The unfortunate part is the Jets’ own pick. New York can’t seem to get anything going, and it’s hard to believe that changes under Jets coach Aaron Glenn. Still, the Jets need to start playing better football, and they need to hope the Colts keep sliding. If the record in Indianapolis keeps reflecting the talent drain, the draft position will follow.

At the end of the day, the Jets are going to walk into the 2027 draft with three high-quality picks. That is a franchise-altering amount of capital.

Don’t trade Garrett Wilson

With the deadline approaching, multiple outlets have floated Garrett Wilson’s name in trade talks. It makes sense on the surface. Wilson is a huge asset, and the Jets could get strong draft capital in return.

I’m telling you, New York should not move on from Garrett Wilson. However, if you think they should, you can craft up your own trade with the new A to Z Sports Trade Simulator.

Why create a hole when there doesn’t need to be one? The Jets don’t have a problem at wide receiver. They have a No. 1 guy. Trading him means drafting another receiver and hoping he turns into the player Wilson already is. That seems like a foolish move to me. They’ve also added talent around Wilson already, as Omar Cooper Jr. is playing great football. 

New York already has the draft capital it needs to rebuild. It doesn’t need to manufacture more by giving away a player who is in the middle of his prime and producing at the top of the depth chart.

Breece Hall is a different story

Breece Hall’s name gets floated around occasionally as well, and that’s one I can understand.

Braelon Allen has played good football over the last month with Hall out with a quad injury. The fact that Hall hasn’t seen the field yet has made me wonder whether the Jets were already thinking about shopping him. That’s purely my opinion and a bit of conspiracy on my part, and I have no idea whether New York is actually shopping Hall.

If the Jets do move him, Allen has shown he can handle the work. I wouldn’t love that trade, but I would understand it. Running backs are easier to replace than a true No. 1 receiver, and Allen has given New York a real reason to believe the backfield would be fine.

Wilson stays. Hall is negotiable. And the Colts keep doing the Jets a favor every time they make another deal. Just hope the Jets can have another solid first round in the 2027 NFL Draft like they did this past April.