AFC Exec: Jets ‘should be mad’ at Patriots over NFL Draft trade
New England Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh didn’t do a very good job of hiding it if his team’s intention truly was to hurt a division rival with a trade back in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Patriots allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to leapfrog the New York Jets in […]
New England Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh didn’t do a very good job of hiding it if his team’s intention truly was to hurt a division rival with a trade back in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Patriots allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to leapfrog the New York Jets in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft when they traded back from the No. 14 overall pick to the No. 17 overall pick. The Steelers selected Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones directly in front of the tackle-needy Jets, who were picking 15th.
Groh smirked in his post-first-round news conference back on April 27 when asked this question:
“Obviously on a night like tonight, the number one priority of the night is to make your team better. But how much are you thinking about what other teams in the division are doing, too? It seems like trading backwards worked out for you guys on a few different levels. You picked up the extra pick. You got Christian at 17. Then in the meantime the Steelers jumped the Jets there and took Broderick Jones. So how much do you keep tabs on what division rivals might be looking for, too?”
Here's the full video:
Groh said at the time that he didn’t know who the Steelers would be picking.
“We keep tabs on all the teams, not just our division rivals," Groh said. "With the trade that transpired here this week, the Jets going from right in front of us to right behind us certainly shifted things. Then for us to kind of jump right back behind them and give Pittsburgh the opportunity to come up and select a player who they selected, which when you make these trades you don't know who the other team is coming up for. But again, we try to do our research and try to have a feeling as far as positionally what a team might be looking for. That's Steve Cargile and his team really working hard on the team’s needs. We've got all that posted right there in the draft room and try to be cognizant of what the teams are looking for. So maybe had an idea of what Pittsburgh was looking for. Certainly, didn't know if that was going to be accurate. Certainly, didn't know what player it was going to be. But there started to be a little bit of a run there on the tackles. That position group was thinning out. If you wanted one of those guys, you'd have to come up and get him.”
The Jets were set to select 13th overall, but they swapped first-round picks with the Green Bay Packers as part of the trade to acquire quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Without that deal, New York could have taken whomever it wanted. New York wound up selecting Iowa State pass rusher Will McDonald at No. 15.
An AFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that New England seemed to know what they were doing.
“The Patriots hit the trifecta on draft night — traded back to acquire more capital, still selected a top corner at No. 17 (Christian Gonzalez) and thwarted the divisional rival New York Jets in the process. Many around the league suspected the Jets, picking No. 15 overall, were eyeing Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones, who went to Pittsburgh at No. 14 because of New England's trade. The Jets' legwork for some of the top tackles, Jones included, was not a secret. When I asked an AFC exec whether the Jets should be frustrated with Pittsburgh, the exec jokingly countered, "They should be mad at the Patriots. They knew what was going on.” — Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
The Jets didn't hold a grudge, however. New England later traded up with New York to select Maryland kicker Chad Ryland.
Groh's father, Al Groh, was head coach of the Jets for the 2000 season after Patriots head coach Bill Belichick resigned as New York's head coach to take the same position with New England. So, there's some history there for Belichick and Groh.
New York, by the way, could have got back at the Patriots by trading the 15th overall pick to a team interested in New England's pick at No. 17 overall, Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
